Coolsville Central: Hyde and Seek!
by wsdsrdbw4096
Summary: Second entry of my Coolsville Central series and sequel to Coolsville: Year One. A new criminal known as Mr. Hyde threatens to turn Coolsville upside down, and as the police department struggles with the case, a certain group of meddling kids and their dog comes together and tries to give detective work a shot. Please read and review!
1. Prologue

**Author's note: Here's the second installment of my _Coolsville Central_ series, folks! This story combines and replaces two older _Coolsville Central_ stories I've written and posted two years ago: _The Clean Up Begins_ and _New in the Neighbourhood_.**

 **As the title suggests, a certain friend from the past of the _Scooby_ franchise and _Dynomutt, Dog Wonder_ series makes his appearance.**

 **That's right. That friend in question is Willie the Weasel, or otherwise known as, Mr. Hyde!**

 **As a matter a fact, this story functions as a modern-day re-imagining of the _Dynomutt, Dog Wonder_ series premiere _Everyone Hyde!_ , complete with a retconned Willie the Weasel, who, in this universe, is a chemical researcher employed at Blake Enterprises, and...you'll find out the rest as you read along with this story.**

 **I don't own Scooby-Doo and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder. Hanna-Barbara Productions and Warner Bros. does.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Prologue, Moving Day and a gossip

 _April 6, 2003_

It has been almost two years since Louis "Lou" Strickland had resigned as the chief of police of Coolsville, thanks to the efforts of then-Lieutenant Samuel Chastain "Sam" Rogers and the vigilantes known as the Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder.

Shortly after Strickland's resignation, Sam, now promoted to captain, was transferred to the Detective Bureau's Major Crimes Division, the departments elite detective division, which operated from police headquarters in downtown Coolsville.

In the process of the transfer, he had handpicked a crew of detectives who he felt he could trust and has the integrity to get the job done and right.

One of those detectives was Sergeant Nelson McCormick, whose loyalty to Sam earned him the transfer to the Major Crimes Division, where he was placed in the homicide unit.

In addition to bringing in a crew of detectives to the MCD, Sam also handpicked a handful of lieutenants to be placed in charge of the units in his new division.

The lieutenant in charge of the homicide unit was Lieutenant Brian Crowley, the former night-shift lieutenant from the East Coolsville Division who Sam had worked with during his time in the division.

Crowley was supportive of Sam's policies and new rules in making sure the detectives does not lose their discipline, thus he earned Sam's trust in taking care of detectives.

The other lieutenant handpicked by Sam was newly-promoted Lieutenant Jared Stephenson, a former Internal Affairs investigator that had investigated Sam's former partner Walter Claphammer two years back, in addition to being briefly partnered with Sam in the Blue Falcon Task Force.

Stephenson had zero-tolerance in officers breaking rules and harboured a strong dislike of corrupt officers, including then-Chief of Police Strickland.

His determination in cleaning up the department earned Sam's trust, so he was recruited to work in the Major Crimes Division, where he was placed in charge of the cold-case unit.

During those two years, Sam, using his authority as the captain in charge of the MCD and the help of his lieutenants, had kept a close eye on the detectives working in his division, making sure that they are not breaking any rules and are working hard to do their jobs as investigators.

Those that don't comply with his rules were disciplined, and in some cases, demoted. The only way for them to be promoted back to their older job is if they clean up their acts.

He also got help from his so-called "minions" - trusted investigators and officers that were transferred to other divisions to keep an eye on corrupt officers who would report to him and the Blue Falcon, where they will, in turn, provide updates to the Office of the District Attorney.

This move was approved by the interim police chief, who took over after Strickland's resignation took effect and saw it as a necessary step in the need to clean up the department.

In the meantime, Sam had also befriended Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Jaffe, who was subsequently elected as District Attorney following Strickland's forced resignation two years back.

The two will often meet to have lunch together, with Sam giving the DA information on the investigation of the dirty cops in the department.

Also, Sam have established regular contact with the Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, who have aided him in his battle against corruption in the department.

Since their first contact, the Blue Falcon and Dynomutt has taken the pleasure of helping Sam solve some cases, usually arriving at a crime scene way ahead of the CPD investigators.

They also formed a partnership with Sam and Nick to battle corruption in Coolsville, with their main contribution being breaking into places of interest where they can obtain evidence of corruption for the captain and the DA.

With the Blue Falcon and Dynomutt's help, Sam was able to dismiss corrupt officers for serious offences, as well as to discipline those with lighter offences, while Jaffe was able to successfully prosecute high-level corrupt politicians of Coolsville.

However, the effort hasn't been without any challenges.

The first challenge came from the new chief of police. Gillain "Gil" Mason was a former deputy commissioner of the Gotham City Police Department and was transferred to the department during Stricklands corruption trial.

According to Sam's contact over at Gotham City, Mason is a reasonable chap, though that contact's "contact" shared the Blue Falcon's reservations on the new chief.

While the new chief seemed nice, Sam knew that he would have to be on the alert of the chief's actions.

"There's a reason why Jim's 'contact' advised me to be careful of Mason, and I intend to find out that reason." Sam thought to himself the day he met the new chief.

The next challenge came from Commander Rupert Gosnell, who was able to hide his links to Strickland and Claphammer.

His disavowing of Claphammer's involvement with a drug dealer two years ago, in addition to testifying at Strickland's corruption trial against the then-chief of police, rewarded him dearly and he got a promotion out of it. He's now the deputy chief in charge of Internal Affairs.

Sam suspected that the promotion and appointment was intended to make his work on cleaning up the department more difficult, as Gosnell now has the authority to police any of the officers freely.

In that same time, there were rumors floating around about IA's increase of placing honest cops under surveillance or dropping bugs in their phones or electronics.

Thus, Sam has no problem confirming his own suspicions on Gosnell's intents to put a stop to his efforts to clean up the department.

It was also Gosnell's transfer to IA that contributed to Stephenson's decision to transfer out of the division and work under Captain Sam Rogers.

And lastly, the third challenge came from Robert "Big Bob" Oakley, the powerful mob boss in Coolsville.

With Gosnell still in his pocket, Oakley can try to sabotage Sam's efforts to clean up the city.

However, he wasn't that much of a threat as he used to be, since he still has his hands full on the gang war against the New York-based mafia organization who's triggerman was badly injured in the course of Oakley's attempt to have the Stuntman murdered following his failure to kidnap Daphne two years back.

In addition, he had lost many politicians and officers that were in his pocket, thanks to Jaffes relentless pursue of evidence of corruption with the help from both Sam and the Blue Falcon and Dynomutt.

Nevertheless, Sam knows he has to be on the lookout for Oakley.

Sam hasn't heard much from Claphammer since the trial, although he heard that his former partner had got himself employed as a security officer at a football stadium after serving his sentence.

Strickland had moved out of the state following his resignation as chief of police, while Hindley remained in command of the East Coolsville Division, having had gone straight following an incident a few months back.

McBride was transferred to the Guns and Gangs Division a year after Strickland's resignation, while Oldfield quitted after Claphammer's imprisonment.

Things were looking up for Sam, though he can tell that there are clouds in the horizon.

* * *

In the meantime, the downtown apartment the Rogers were living in was becoming too crowded for the family of four.

It was something that Sam began to notice shortly after his promotion to captain, and he was planning on beginning his search for a new house when one afternoon, a chance drive to the City West Division police station in Dawsburg got the ball rolling.

FLASHBACK - Almost Two Years Ago

 _August 10, 2001_

That afternoon, Sam and Lieutenant Brian Crowley were on their way for a visit to the City West Division police station located in Dawsburg.

The drive came after that morning, when the Major Crimes Division received a call from the captain in charge of the division, asking them over for a meeting.

Apparently the captain, who had since become one of Sam's supporters in his quest for reforming the department, had decided to send his detective squad back to the Coolsville Police College for special courses and training for two weeks, and with a skeleton crew on duty until then, he needed Major Crimes to cover for them in case the skeleton crew gets overwhelmed with cases.

On the way to the police station, Sam drove by a small house that had a "For Sale" sign on the property.

Recalling the talks around town on how the community is an ideal place to raise children, with its low crime rate and large number of schools and parks in the community, in addition to affordable property values, Sam decided to take the opportunity to move his family to the neighbourhood.

After the meeting, he stopped by to get the contact information of the sellers of the house.

Arrangements were made soon after, with Sam and Wendy making trips to the bank and the house, as well as meetings with the owners of the house, for the purchase of the house.

END OF FLASHBACK

And that's how Sam and Wendy came to be rushing with the packing of their stuff that evening as they prepared for the move the next day.

All of their clothes were already packed into boxes, together with miscellaneous items, such as lamps, CDs and portable hardware.

By that point, the kids Norville and Maggie were fast asleep in bed as the parents hurriedly packed up their belongings.

* * *

 _April 7, 2003_

That morning, the moving van arrived and after the movers loaded the heavy furniture and hardware onto the van, the Rogers were off for their new house, which came after some goodbyes to neighbours and a trip down to the apartments management's office to return the keys.

The family then got onto the van and drove off, with the moving van following behind them.

Much of the drive was uneventful, although Norville and Maggie will occasionally ask their parents when will they arrive at their new house, adding that they're hungry and want to have something to eat soon.

It was almost noontime when the family finally arrived at their new house in Dawsburg.

Another hour went by as the movers and the parents get their belongings and furnitures off the vehicles before the family had their lunch and proceed to get everything out of the boxes and move the furniture around.

It was around the early evening did Sam and Wendy finished arranging the furniture inside their house.

"Boy, what a day." Sam later remarked that late evening when he and Wendy settled into their bed.

"No kidding." Wendy agreed.

* * *

 _April 8, 2003_

The next day, after Sam left the house to go to work, Wendy was doing some cleaning in the living room while the kids were playing in their bedroom in the second floor when the doorbell rang.

Wendy went over to open the door, and she was greeted by a brown-haired woman standing at the doorway.

"Hi!" Wendy spoke. "What can I do for you?"

"My name is Jennifer Throne. I live just across the street and heard that you moved into our neighbourhood yesterday."

"Yeah." Wendy replied. "My husband and I bought this house last week and made the decision to move here, as we heard that this neighbourhood is an ideal place to raise children."

"It is." Jennifer replied. "I am glad you and your husband made the right choice to move here. Dawsburg has a lot of schools and parks, and it is relatively safe in comparison to the other parts of the city. A really ideal place to raise a family."

Wendy nodded before saying, "By the way, I'm Wendy Rogers. My husband Sam works for the city's police department."

"Wait, is your husband the police captain that has been trying to clean up house in that rotten, no-good police department for the past two years?"

"Yes, he is. How do you know that?"

"Yesterday when I saw you and your family moving in, I saw your husband's face and he looked familiar to me, although I wasn't able to place it somewhere in my memory. Later, I was throwing out old newspapers with my husband when we came upon the old newspaper that had your husbands picture on the headline, on his promotion to captain and promise to clean up house, and that's when I remembered why your husband looked so familiar."

"I see. So how long have you been living in this neighbourhood, Mrs. Throne?"

"I've been living here for ten years. I know everyone living on our street, including the Blakes that lived next door to your house."

As Jennifer mentioned the Blakes, Wendy thought she had heard a tone of disgust in Jennifer's voice.

Before Wendy could inquire, Jennifer continued, "You may have known that the Blakes are one of the richest citizens in Coolsville, Wendy, and if I were you, I'll consider it to be safe to keep your distance from the Blakes."

"Why's that?"

"The Blakes are one of the most selfish people in the city and their company is very corrupt, involved in unethical business practices and caring about nothing other than money."

"I see." Wendy nodded, although she was not sure if she should totally believe what Jennifer had told her.

Wendy decided that it is safe to not tell Jennifer that she and her husband were almost framed in a what turned out to be a failed attempt to kidnap Daphne Blake two years ago.

"Well, anyways. I better get going with the garden. It is nice meeting you, Mrs. Rogers." Jennifer continued.

"Likewise, Mrs. Throne." Wendy replied as she shook hands with Jennifer. "Have yourself a nice day."

After the chat with Jennifer, Wendy resumed her cleaning of the living room. However, Jennifer's gossip about the Blakes continued to float in her mind.

* * *

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	2. A heated discussion and new friends

Chapter 2: A heated argument and new friends

 _June 3, 2003_

Almost two months went by since Sam and his family moved into a new house in Dawsburg. During this time, Sam became more acquainted with the officers stationed at the Dawsburg station while his family befriended many of their neighbours.

However, he wasn't able to keep the neighbourhood gossip on the Blakes out of his mind, particularly with Blake Enterprises being corrupt.

Sam knew that the District Attorney was acquainted with the Blakes, but he wondered if things aren't the way they appear to be.

Anyways, that morning, Sam was reading and sorting reports in his office as usual when Deputy Chief Gosnell walked into his office after a knock on the door.

"Rogers." Gosnell says as he stood at the doorway.

"What do you want, Gosnell? I'm in the middle of sorting through important reports from my division." Sam asks without looking up to Gosnell.

"It has been almost two years since you ousted our good chief Strickland, and you seem like you still haven't regret your actions of forcing him to resign."

"Of course I'm haven't. You know bloody well that he is a law-breaker, even though he was the top man in a department that is supposed to enforce the _very_ laws he broke." Sam replies as he continued with his work, still not looking up to Gosnell. "His involvement with the mob, particularly with Al Houser's drug trafficking ring, is absolute, concrete proof that he is not suited to be our chief of police."

"That's what you think, Rogers." Gosnell replied with a unmistakable tone of hostility in his voice.

Even though it has been two years since Sam got promoted to captain, Gosnell refused to acknowledge him as a captain.

"You know what you are doing, Rogers?" Gosnell gritted his teeth as he continued, "You are destroying the very foundations that allowed the city to function well as a whole. All of these drug trafficking rings and protection rings existed to allow the city to benefit economically, since Oakley, as the man who runs the city, can use the profits to allow the city to continue to function well."

"Yeah, yeah. At the expense of justice, liberty and the lives of several people whose contribution to society could have benefited everyone in the city." Sam retorted.

He then stood up and continued, "There's a reason why the police department existed. To enforce laws within its jurisdiction. To protect the citizens living within its jurisdiction. To allow justice to be served to those who suffered by criminal acts that endanger the city. Right now, the department is serving as a puppet to the powerful, ignoring the weak and protecting the powerful."

Sam then walked over to his office window, pointed outside and continued, "You know what problem there is in doing that? You still got citizens living in constant fear as a result of the high crime that came thanks to corruption and the departments continued protection of the powerful crime bosses."

After that remark, Sam then walked back to Gosnell and pointed at his badge as he added, "The department was supposed to protect and serve the people, and right now it is doing the _exact_ opposite."

"Doesn't matter, Rogers." Gosnell retorted. "If we don't protect the powerful, how can the city function in the first place?"

He then lowered his voice and continued, "You are the worst kind of police officer, Rogers. You think the powerful people in charge of the city are unsuited for the job. Think again. I won't be the first in this department to get rid of you, but I'll make sure that I'll be the last."

Gosnell then turned to leave but Rogers stopped him, saying, "You're forgetting one thing, Deputy Chief."

"What is it?"

"You forgot about the support I got from the citizens of Coolsville. As you can see, the number of people living in Coolsville clearly outnumbered the number of powerful people that run the city through illegal means." Sam said as he walked towards the window again and pointed outside. "I became a police officer to serve those citizens and protect them, not to turn a blind eye on the powerful bullying the weak."

Then, standing eye-to-eye with Gosnell, Sam continued, "This is why the interim chief approved my transfer to Major Crimes and my work on keeping an eye out for corrupt officers: To show the citizens that we're up to our task in making the city safer. To ensure officers are being held accountable for their actions, so the citizens know they can trust the department. This task requires constant focus with little to no interruptions."

Sam finally stood face-to-face to Gosnell as he speaks with unmistakable rage in his voice: "And this is exactly why I do not have time to deal with you and your rubbish. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got important work to do."

With that, Sam sat back down on his chair and carried on with his paperwork.

Gosnell was about to say something when a voice said, "Deputy Chief, you leave Captain Rogers alone."

The deputy chief turned. Through the open doorway, he can see Sergeant McCormick, along with several other detectives and Lieutenant Crowley standing at the door, all of them with their arms folded.

The voice came from McCormick, who managed to overhear Sam's heated discussion with Gosnell.

"This is none of your bus-" Gosnell was saying when McCormick leaned towards the deputy chief and pointed at his chest and cut in, saying, "Leave, Captain, Rogers, Alone! Just because we're a lower rank than you does NOT mean we are willing to continue to let you intimidate us."

"The message is clear, Deputy Chief." Crowley added. "If you continue to stand in Captain Rogers' way in reforming this crooked department, we'll make sure the Blue Falcon and his hound teaches you a lesson."

Before Gosnell can think of something to retort, Stephenson, with a frown on his face, walks over to him as if he is ready to confront the Deputy Chief.

While Stephenson is a lower rank than Gosnell, even Gosnell knew it was wise not to mess with the former Internal Affairs investigator as they engaged in a staring contest of sorts.

Facing a group of detectives that are firmly loyal to Sam, Gosnell knew it will be wise for him to retreat.

As he leaves the squad room, he says, "You all will regret this."

"Says who, you doggone snake in the grass? You may be the Deputy Chief in charge of IA and can have those jerks investigate us and file nonsense complaints on any of us, including Captain Rogers, whenever you want, but that doesn't mean we will back down from your lame threats. We are not afraid of you." McCormick retorted as the rest of the detectives nodded in agreement.

Gosnell just stood without saying a word before turning to leave the squad room.

After Gosnell left the room, Sam came out of his office. "Thanks for standing up for me, guys."

All of the detectives nodded as McCormick replied, "No sweat, sir. We just wish that jerk-headed Deputy Chief will leave you alone."

"Yeah." Sam responded. "But no matter what happens, we carry on with our work, whether Gosnell likes it or not. We stay strong as a team. We will not let the braindead jerks stand in our way, even if they are from Internal Affairs."

"Right." With that, the detectives resumed their work as McCormick, his new partner Detective Nathaniel Hughes and Lieutenant Crowley went in with Sam into his office to discuss the progress of a case they were working on.

* * *

Meanwhile, following the move, Norville was registered to attend the nearby West Dawsburg Elementary School, where he finished Grade 2, while Maggie was transferred to the school's kindergarten.

Both siblings had made friends with the kids that went to their school and get along with their schoolmates well.

However, as with her husband Sam, Wendy wasn't able to stop thinking about the neighbourhood gossip on the Blakes that lived in the small mansion next door, particularly about the corrupt Blake Enterprises.

While Norville and Maggie never encountered young Daphne during the school days, they did heard a lot of their schoolmates gossiping about Daphne Blake, on how selfish and spoiled she is.

However, a simple turn of events will soon keep the Rogers' view on the Blakes on the bright side.

That afternoon after school, Norville and Maggie were flying a kite at a nearby park while their mother Wendy stood by, watching them.

To their dismay, a sudden shift in the wind yanked the kite away from the siblings, causing it to gain altitude and flew up high.

"Mommy! The kite's flying away!" Norville cried out.

"Oh no!" Wendy quickly said. "We'll go after it, but watch where you're going and don't run onto the road, dear."

The siblings, accompanied by their mother, made a dashing chase for the kite. However, the kite remained flying up high.

It was a matter of a few minutes before the wind died down, but when it did, the kite ended up flying over one of the fences that separates the Blakes mansion from the sidewalk and landed in a small garden that is only a few feet away from the fence that separates the Blakes property from the Rogers' property.

"Good grief!" Wendy said as she and the kids got back to their home and stood by the fence, staring at the kite at the other side of the fence. "Now what?"

Clearly, the kite is beyond their reach, and they won't be able to get it back without their neighbours help.

With all those rumours and gossips on the Blakes, Wendy was anxious about the idea of meeting them, not wanting to get yelled at for getting a kite into their yard.

But then, if she doesn't get the kite back, the kids will start to cry and scream like as if a fire broke out at their place.

Just as Wendy pounders on what to do, an attractive red-haired woman, accompanied by a young, cute-looking red-haired girl who Wendy assumed to be her daughter, came out of their mansion. The girl quickly ran towards the kite.

"Look, mommy! A dragon! But I thought there are no such things as dragons!" The girl exclaimed, pointing at the kite.

"That's because it's not a dragon, Daphne." The woman replied. "It's a kite."

"Can we play with it?" Daphne asked.

"I'm afraid we can't. The kite doesn't belong to us, dear."

"But I want to!" Daphne insisted.

Before her mother could respond, Wendy gently spoke, "Excuse me. My two children were flying that kite in the park, and they accidently let go of it, causing it to flew away and land into your front yard. Will it be okay if you can give it back to us?"

"See, dear? The kite belongs to the kids next door." The woman said gently to Daphne. "We will return the toy to them."

"Thank you." Wendy said. "One more second, their father will think that a serious emergency had broke out."

"I agree." The woman smiled as she registered Wendy's last remark. "Oh, pardon me but I haven't introduced myself. Elizabeth Blake."

Elizabeth then gestured to her daughter and added, "This is my daughter Daphne."

"Wendy Rogers." Wendy replied as she shook Elizabeth's offered hand. After a brief pause, she added, "You seem nicer than I heard, Mrs. Blake."

"Oh. I believe it is safe to assume that you heard the neighbourhood gossip about us." Elizabeth sighed. "Gossips that came from rumours about us that are never kind, especially when they were started by a group of former employees that had their employment terminated for suspicion of using my husband's company as a front for a protection racket and counterfeiting ring, as well as for conspiracy to commit fraud..."

Before Elizabeth could continue, she and Wendy could hear sniffing coming from her daughter.

"I want to play with the kite..." Daphne sniffed as she watches Norville and Maggie having fun with their returned kite.

"Daphne, you've got plenty of kites to play with. Come with me." Her mother replied.

"Kite..." Daphne sniffed. She clearly wanted to play with Norville and Maggies dragon kite, and by that point she looked like she was going to cry.

At this point, Wendy made a quick decision. "Mrs. Blake, perhaps Daphne can play with Norville and Maggie while we can have a chat."

"That's a good idea, Mrs. Rogers." Elizabeth smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem. Oh, and by the way, you can call me Wendy."

"Sure, sure, as long as you call me Elizabeth."

Soon, Wendy and Elizabeth were sitting on the front porch talking while Daphne went to join Norville and Maggie.

"May I join you?" Daphne asked as she approached Norville and Maggie.

"Like, sure." Maggie replied with a smile as her brother nodded.

"Thanks." Daphne smiled. "By the way, the name's Daphne. Daphne Blake."

"Norville Rogers." Norville replied. Gesturing to his sister, he added, "My sister, Maggie Rogers."

"Norville? I don't mean to be rude, but that sounds like a weird name to me." Daphne said politely. "On the other hand, 'Shaggy' sounds perfect for your hair style."

"Shaggy, eh?" Norville laughed. "That name actually works for me, Daph. What do you say, Maggie?"

"Like the name." Maggie said excitingly. Turning to Daphne, she asked, "Have any names for me?"

"You seem like a sweet girl, Maggie." Daphne said kindly. "Perhaps 'Sugie' should work, as it almost sounds similar to sugar."

"I like the name." Maggie replied excitingly, as her brother smiled at Daphne, his face telling her that he doesn't mind the nicknames Daphne had given them.

Daphne smiled back at Shaggy and Sugie, her face indicating that she doesn't mind being nicknamed 'Daph'.

The trio soon proceeded to play with the kite, enjoying themselves as their mothers watched them play with smiles on their faces.

* * *

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	3. Two discussions

Chapter 3: Two meetings

Hours after his heated conversation with Gosnell, Sam was invited to a lunch meeting with the District Attorney, who wanted him to meet the millionaire that contributed to his campaign for DA two years back.

Sam happily accepted the invitation and left his office at noon for the lunch meeting.

The lunch meeting took place at the Milky Way Restaurant, which is located a block away from the police headquarters.

The DA was already seated when Sam arrived. The two shook hands as they greeted each other.

"Sam. How's it going?" Jaffe asked as he offered Sam his fist.

"Doing well, Nick." Sam replies as he bumps Jaffe's fist. "Where's the gentleman you wanted me to meet?"

"Oh, he's on his way. His office is several blocks away from here. So any progress made this week?"

"Yeah. An officer that used to work with me in East Coolsville, who is now in Guns and Gangs, managed to find evidence of a patrol sergeants involvement in a burglary and came to me yesterday to hand me the photos."

"I see. I heard the Blue Falcon out of town for a few days."

"Yeah, but don't worry, my investigators are well trusted, so they can cover him well while he's away."

"Good. You trust them, right?"

"Yes, I do." Sam replies. He then proceeded to tell Jaffe about the heated argument he had with Gosnell just a few hours earlier.

"All right. Seems like you got yourself a great team, Sam." Jaffe replies after Sam finished telling the story.

It was then that Jaffe looked out the window and saw the familiar redhead businessman walking towards the restaurant entrance before he added, "Oh, here he comes."

A few minutes later, the man came to the table where Sam and Nick were seated.

"All right, Sam." Jaffe says after greeting the man. "I will like you to meet George Robert Nadley Blake, CEO of Blake Enterprises."

He then turned back to George and said, "George, I will like you to meet Captain Samuel Chastain Rogers of the Coolsville Police Department's Major Crimes Division."

George offered Sam his hand and said, "A pleasure to meet you, Captain Rogers."

"Likewise, Mr. Blake." Sam replied as he shook hands with the millionaire. "I believe we might have met before."

"That's correct, captain." George replied as they sat down. "You were the lieutenant that foiled the kidnapping of my daughter Daphne two years ago, with the help from Radley."

"Yes. I do remember that, Mr. Blake." Sam nodded. "I hope your daughter Daphne is doing well."

"She is." George interjected. "I also remember that you were the hero cop that rescued those six children from that kidnapper. Glad to finally talk to you in person."

Introductions over, the trio spent the next ten minutes talking about their lives and job before their ordered meals arrive.

All three men were married and have children, with Jaffe being the only man who's a grandfather, as his daughter had gave birth a year back, while Sam mentioned that his family moved into George's neighbourhood almost a year ago.

Eventually, after the main course, Sam skillfully turned the conversation into a new channel.

"It has been almost two years since Strickland did the reasonable thing of resigning." Sam remarked as he finished his lunch.

"Yeah. I read that he moved out of Ohio shortly after his resignation." George replies. "So tell me, captain. Has anything in the department improved since Strickland's resignation?"

"Well, with my duties at the MCD, things had gotten better in the department. However, the task to clean up the department wasn't easy."

"How so?" Blake asked.

"Well, you still got that pain in the neck Gosnell who is now the deputy chief in charge of the department's Internal Affairs and will do anything to stand in my way."

"Gosnell?" Blake asked. "I thought he resigned."

"I wish he did, but that smart son of a gun was able to cover his tracks and even disavowed Claphammer's actions during his trial, which earned him the promotion to deputy chief." Sam replied. "And then, there's the new chief of police, Gil Mason, a former deputy commissioner from Gotham City that came on while Strickland was on trial."

"How's Mason? Is he better than Strickland?" Blake asked.

"Can't say for sure. I never had any interaction with the man." Sam shrugged. "However, I do have contacts from Gotham City, and from what my main contact told me about Mason, he seems like a reasonable chap, though his other 'contact' has suspicions on him."

"At least you've now got higher authority than when Strickland was around." Blake remarked. "Plus, with the Actor now engaged in a gang war with that New York-based mafia organization, he's got his hands full."

"Nonetheless, Oakley can still be a threat, Sam." Jaffe interjected. "You still ought to be on the lookout for him."

"Right." Sam nodded. "As Jim's contact said when referring to that lunatic clown of Gotham, 'Expect the unexpected.'"

* * *

Meanwhile in the park, as Wendy and Elizabeth watched their children playing with the kite, the two mothers continued to have their conversation.

"So you mentioned that a group of employees that used to work for you and your husband were fired for the suspicion of using your company as a front to their criminal activities, am I correct?" Wendy asked.

"That's right. The police did suspect them of conspiracy to commit fraud, which led to us to terminate their employments in our company. However, there was not much evidence for them to successfully charge them, although my husband and I terminated their employments nonetheless, over the objections raised by the board of directors."

"Does that explain why the neighbours think that Blake Enterprises is corrupt?" Wendy asked. "Because the Board of Directors is corrupt?"

"Yes." Elizabeth nodded. "You all may not realize this, but one of the stakeholders of Blake Enterprises is good friends with Bartemius 'Barty' Daggett."

 **(Note: Bartemius "Barty" Daggett is a retconned version of Barty Blake, Daphne's father from SDMI, for this series.)**

"Who's the head of the rival Daggett Pharmaceutical." Wendy interjected.

"That's right." Elizabeth said. "Daggett Pharmaceutical has been longing to buy out Blake Enterprises, but my husband has always say no, citing the company's unethical business practices, particularly with the way that company treats its employees and always placing profits ahead of safety and environmental protection."

"And so, your husband has to carry on with the corrupt façade of the company to protect you and Daphne, right?" Wendy asked. "In a city like this, I can't say that I'm surprised if that turns out to be the case."

Elizabeth nodded as she and Wendy took a seat at a park bench.

Deciding to turn the conversation into a new channel, she asked, "So you and your family only moved in last month, am I right?"

"That's right. The apartment we were renting in downtown was becoming too crowded for a family of four, especially with the kids wanting their own room. Until our moving to the neighbourhood, they have been sleeping on a bunk bed in me and my husbands bedroom."

Elizabeth nodded. "I see. So how long have you been living in Coolsville?"

"Two years. Prior to that, we were living in New York City, with my husband working for the NYPD at the time until his transfer to Cooslville."

Wendy then shook her head sadly as she continued, "In the first few month following the transfer, Sam had mentioned a few times that he has doubted that whether accepting the transfer back to Coolsville was a good idea, especially since he has a family."

"What do you mean transfer back?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well, you see, Sam and I got married while he was with the NYPD as a detective." Wendy explained. "However, long before we met, he actually began his career in Coolsville following his graduation from Ohio State University with a degree in criminology with one year in patrol before he was engineered out of the department."

"Engineered?" Elizabeth asked. "What happened?"

"It was a shooting incident 18 years ago." Wendy replied. "Sam, who was posted at the Harbor Division, was patrolling his beat in the Docklands one night, and he caught his former training officer and her husband breaking into a warehouse stealing cargo. What happened afterwards was beyond my guess, as I haven't met him yet, but he said that he had shot them in self-defence."

"Dear Lord!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "Is that why he was transferred to New York in the first place?"

"Yes. As a matter a fact, that fat cat Strickland, who was his commanding officer at the time, played a role in arranging Sam's transfer." Wendy said. "Even though I don't know what exactly happen, I got a hunch that fat cat arranged the transfer for fear that the incident could bring him and other corrupt officers down."

"I see why you feel that way, Wendy." Elizabeth replied with sympathy in her voice. "As a person who has lived in Coolsville for all my life, I have to tell you that the city has been on the decline even before your husband got transferred to New York. The folks at City Hall are more crooked than a question mark, and they never did anything to address the city's social or economic problems, particularly with a growing unemployment and poverty rates and drug problems, the latter fueled by this disastrous War on Drugs."

"No kidding." Wendy agreed. "Shortly after his transfer back to Coolsville, Sam spoke to me one night while the kids were sleeping and he remarked how much the city hasn't changed since he left eighteen years ago."

"With that fat cat Strickland the city's top cop at the time your husband returned here, I can't say that I'm surprised that the department is still its old, crooked self." Elizabeth nodded. "At least on the bright side, your husband's got help and is not fighting alone."

"Indeed." Wendy agreed. "With the Blue Falcon, the District Attorney and the boys in blue in this neighbourhood backing him."

"Yeah. There is a reason why Dawsburg has one of the city's lowest crime rates. They're under the care of the more competent officers who are obviously far better than those goons on the top at downtown."

The two mothers later concluded with their conversation just as Shaggy, Sugie and Daphne were getting tired.

"Mommy, mommy!" Sugie exclaimed. "Norville and I are hungry and tired."

"Alright, alright, Maggie. We're going to head home soon." Wendy calmed her daughter before turning to Elizabeth and added, "The kids do get hungry quite easily. It's only 5 o'clock and they wanted to get going with their supper already."

"I can tell." Elizabeth smiled. "Little Daphne also wants to head home, so let's walk home together."

As the kids accompanied their mothers on their way home, Daphne was speaking to Shaggy, "So Shaggy, do you and Sugie want to wait for me after school tomorrow? We can go somewhere to hang out."

"Sounds like a groovy idea, Daph, eh, Maggie?"

"A groovy idea indeed!" Sugie agreed. "Where are we hanging out at?"

"There's this diner down the street, near the school. It's called the Malt Shop." Daphne replied. "Jenkins, my family's head butler, knows the owner and he will be happy to serve kids."

"Like, that sounds like a good place for after-school dessert!" Shaggy says as his little sister nodded in agreement.

Soon, the two families arrived at the main entrance to the Blakes mansion and parted ways after some goodbyes.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	4. Summertime and new friends

Chapter 4: Enter the Great Dane and new friends in the new school year

 _June 25, 2003_

It has been more than three weeks since the Rogers had befriended the Blakes. During this time, Shaggy and Sugie started to became close with Daphne, and as the views on the Blakes begins to soften, Daphne was able to make plenty of friends, although she remains close to Shaggy and Sugie for the most part.

Everyday after school, the trio hangs out at the Malt Shop for after-school dessert. While the diners owner was amazed by Shaggy and Sugie's large appetites, he was nevertheless glad to serve the trio, remarking that they were one of his best costumers.

Daphne was also quite surprised on Shaggy and Sugie's large appetites. Her curiosity led to her asking them a question that afternoon while Shaggy and Sugie were enjoying their loads of ice cream.

"Shaggy, Sugie, mind if I ask you why do you two eat that much?" She asked.

Shaggy shrugged. "Like, it's just that we're always hungry."

"Okay." Daphne replied slowly. "What I don't get is that you guys never seem to gain weight in spite of eating that much of food."

"Like, I guess our longtime enjoyment in playing at the park and exercising prevented us from gaining weight."

Daphne nodded as she accepted Shaggy's explanation.

After finishing their desserts and paying the bill, the trio took a walk to a nearby pet farm, as Daphne's butler Jenkins follows them.

"So Shaggy, where are we going today?" Daphne asked.

"Like, the Knittingham Puppy Farm. Our parents told us we can adopt a puppy." Shaggy replied.

He was excited to have a dog. Afterall, it is said that a dog is man's best friend.

A few minutes later, the trio entered the puppy farm, where they were greeted by Mrs. Knittingham, the farm owner.

"Norville Rogers?" Mrs. Knittingham asked.

"Like, that's me, Mrs. Knittingham." Shaggy replied.

"Glad to have you here. The pups are ready for you and your sister Maggie to pick." Mrs. Knittingham smiled as she led the way with the three children following behind.

They were soon led to a room with a door labeled, "The Doo Family".

The three children entered in a large room where a family of Great Danes were gathering. All of them had brown fur and black spots and were wearing a blue collar with a dog tag.

The family was led by a Great Dane bearing the resemblance of a white-collared worker, as he was wearing a tie and a pair of glasses.

He also had a moustache. As soon as he saw the three children enter, he turned to the pups and said, "All right, everyone. Behave yourselves and you may get picked to live with Sam and his family."

Unaware that the Doos were the breed of Great Danes capable of speech, Daphne turned to Shaggy and said, "Shaggy, I thought you never use your fathers first name."

"Like, I never do, Daph. These Great Danes do talk!"

"Talking dogs? I thought there were no such thing as talking dogs!"

"We can really talk, miss." The Great Dane that said.

"How come?" Daphne asked.

"It's in our genes." The dog shrugged.

Daphne nodded before turning to Shaggy and Sugie and asked, "Shaggy, Sugie, how did that Great Dane know your fathers name?"

"He was our fathers pet at a time, Daph." Sugie explained.

Shaggy nodded. "Like, it is tradition for my family to adopt a member of the Doo family."

"I see."

The first pup was a male pup wearing a pair of glasses. He appeared to be in his early teens.

 **(Note: For all ages I'm going to use here, it is in human years)**

The second pup was wearing a pinkish-purple dress and had red-brown hair. She appeared to be younger than the pup with glasses.

The third pup had bushy orange-blond hair and appeared to be younger than his only sister.

The last pup looked like his oldest brother, except that he is much younger than his two brothers and only sister. He also looked rather cute.

Placing her eyes on the last pup, Daphne quickly pointed him out, saying, "Shaggy, Sugie, check this one out."

Taking a look at the young pup, Shaggy and Sugie noted that his dog tag had the initials "SD" on it.

"Like, what's your name?" Shaggy asked the pup.

"Roobert-Doo!" The pup exclaimed excitingly and wagged his tail.

Turning the dog tag, Shaggy noted that the pup's name is Scoobert-Doo.

"Like, Scoobert-Doo." Shaggy remarked and the pup nodded.

"Perhaps it would be easier if we give Scoobert a nickname, Norville." Sugie suggested.

As she was speaking, the puppy farm happened to be playing the song _Strangers in the Night_ , and when it played the scat "doo-be-doo-be-doo", Daphne's face lighten up.

"Scooby-Doo! This nickname should work! What do you guys think?" She suggested.

"I like it!" Shaggy replied as his sister nodded.

He then turned to Scoobert and added, "Like, I think we'll just call you Scooby-Doo from now on to make things easier, Scoob."

"Ri rike re rickname, Raggy." (I like the nickname, Shaggy) Scooby-Doo replied as he excitingly jumped onto Shaggy and licked him in his face, causing him to laugh.

As they watch Scooby licking Shaggy in the face, Sugie turned to Mrs. Knittingham and said, "I think Scooby likes my brother."

"I can tell." Mrs. Knittingham nodded as she smiled.

Soon, after Mr. Doo filed the paperwork and Scooby-Doo said goodbye to his parents and siblings, the Rogers siblings, Daphne and Jenkins made their way out of the puppy farm with Scooby-Doo, starting a new chapter in the Great Dane pups life.

* * *

 _Summer of 2003_

More than two months went by since Shaggy and Sugie had adopted Scooby-Doo.

During the summer vacation, the trio, along with Daphne, will go have fun at the park.

During particularly hot days where the sun is boiling hot, George Blake will invite the Rogers kids over to play with Daphne in her small private swimming pool.

With the help from Sam Rogers, the two fathers had also set up a hose in the garden for the kids to play with to cool themselves down.

On days that are not as hot, Shaggy, Sugie and Daphne will also race each other with their bikes down the street, with Scooby-Doo watching them and sometimes takes one of the kids' place in the race.

The kids had also spent a day at the beach down at Lake Coolsville, where they had fun building sand castles and swimming in the water.

Before anyone knew it, two months went by fast and this day was the first day back to school, where Shaggy and Daphne are in Grade 3 together while Sugie is starting Grade 1.

* * *

 _September 2, 2003_

That morning, a short, 8-year-old girl with short brown hair and glasses was on her way to her class when she encountered a large, muscular boy with red hair, accompanied by two other boys.

"Hey look, guys. It's that geek Dinkley again!" The red-haired boy exclaimed.

"Have you been spending your summer reading again?" One of the boys teased as the red-haired boy proceeded to knock the girls books onto the floor.

"Loser." The other boy laughed. "She does nothing but read all day, hence the glasses."

Before the three bullies could further torment the short girl, a voice shouted, "Leave that girl alone, Red Herring!"

The three boys turned. That voice had came from a blond-haired boy with an orange ascot. He was holding a copy of a magazine on traps and mysteries on his right hand.

"Oh, not you again, Jones!" The red-haired boy, known as Red Herring, retorted. "This is none of your business!"

"Then, I'll make it the principal's business if you don't stop picking on the poor girl, then!" The blond-haired boy replied.

Before Red Herring had a chance to retort, the school bell rang, signalling the students that class will start in 5 minutes.

Without another word, Red and his gang made their way down the hall quickly after shooting one last glare to the boy.

Turning to the short girl, the boy said, "Those guys sure don't leave you alone, eh?"

"I guess not." The girl replied. "Thanks for standing up for me."

"You're welcome." The boy replied. "By the way, the name's Jones. Frederick Jones, although most people just calls me Fred."

"Velma Dinkley." The girl replied as she shook Fred's offered hand. "I guess we better get to class now."

Fred nodded. "Are you in Grade 3?" He then asked.

"Yes." Velma nodded. "Are you in Grade 3, too?"

"That's right."

"Jinkies. That means you're in the same class as I am!"

"Wow. What a coincidence." Fred remarked as he finished helping Velma picking up her books. Then, the duo made their way to their classroom.

Soon, Fred and Velma arrived at Mrs. Hamilton's classroom. They sat beside each other, near the front of the classroom.

Fred took a glance around the classroom before the bell ringed. He noticed the orange-haired girl most people know to be the rich Blakes daughter was in his class. She was sitting next to a boy with dusty-brown hair and wearing a green shirt, a pair of jeans, and they were chatting happily.

"Huh. I guess Daphne is nicer than I thought." Fred thought to himself as he remembered the school gossips about Daphne from the year before.

He shrugged before turning back to Velma.

 **(Shaggy and Daphne's Point of View)**

Shaggy and Daphne were finishing chatting on how much they had enjoyed the summer, with Daphne reassuring Shaggy that Sugie will do just fine in Grade 1.

Shaggy then took a glance around the classroom. He noticed that a blond-haired boy was staring at him and Daphne while they were talking. He was sitting beside a girl with glasses, and they were chatting.

The bell then ringed as Mrs. Hamilton starts her class.

* * *

Later, during lunchtime, Shaggy, Sugie and Daphne were sitting together having lunch in the cafeteria.

"So Sugie," Daphne asked, "How's your day so far?"

"It was okay." Sugie replied. "I was in the same class as one of the Dinkley girls, whose name is Madelyn. She seemed friendly."

Shaggy and Daphne nodded.

"I see." Shaggy remarked.

He then turned his head and saw the blond-haired boy from his and Daphne's class walking with two brown-haired girls in glasses, one of whom was also in his class.

The other brown-haired girl saw Sugie sitting with Shaggy and waved. "Hi Sugie!"

Sugie waved back. "You guys can come sit and eat with me and my brother and his friend!"

"Sure."

Soon, the two girls and the boy were seated with Shaggy, Sugie and Daphne as they have their lunches together.

The blond-haired boy instantly recognized Shaggy.

"Hey, you're in my class!" He exclaimed excitingly.

Shaggy nodded and so did Daphne.

"Like, I noticed you and her sitting together." He said, his hand gesturing to the brown-haired girl whose sister is chatting happily with Sugie.

"That's right. She's my friend, and I stood up for her after that clown Red Herring and his gang picked on her this morning!" The boy responded.

"Jeepers!" Daphne responded.

Shaggy looked at her confusingly. "Who's Red Herring?"

Daphne quickly remembered that Shaggy only transferred into the school in June.

"He's a red-haired bully and is always seen with two other boys, picking on anybody weaker than him." She explained.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy replied.

It was that moment that Shaggy realized that he haven't introduced himself to the boy and the sisters and he quickly said, "Oh, by the way, the name's Rogers. Norville Rogers, but you can call me Shaggy."

"Fred Jones." The boy said as he offered Shaggy's hand.

As they shook hands, Fred gestured towards the sisters and added, "This is Velma Dinkley and her sister Madelyn."

"Nice meeting you guys." Velma said shyly as she shook hands with both Shaggy and Daphne. "Are you Sugie's brother?"

"That's right." Shaggy replied. "Her name is actually Maggie."

"I gave them both their nicknames." Daphne explained as she gestured towards Shaggy and Sugie.

"A nice nickname for both of them." Fred commented as Shaggy nodded. That's when he noticed that Fred was holding a magazine.

"Like, what's this?" He asked, pointing towards the magazine.

"Oh, it's the _Traps and Mysteries_." Fred replied. "It's a great magazine with all of the mysteries and demonstrations on traps in it."

"Cool." Shaggy replied. "Like, mysteries are quite fun to read about, although some stuff are pretty scary."

"I agree." Daphne agreed. "However, it is still suitable for someone looking for a sense of adventure."

Shaggy nodded, and so did Fred and Velma.

The six friends spent the rest of the lunch period chatting and eating.

* * *

After school, Fred, Velma and Madelyn were preparing to head home when Shaggy caught up with them.

"Like, are you guys busy after school?"

"No. Why?" Velma replied.

"Daphne was wondering if you guys will like to hang out with us at the Malt Shop?"

"That sounds like a groovy idea." Fred replied. "We just need to let our parents know where we're going."

That's when Velma produced a mobile telephone from her briefcase, surprising Shaggy, Sugie and Daphne.

"It's a wonder to me that Velma can carry that briefcase around with ease." Daphne remarked.

"Don't worry. I'm used to it." Velma said.

After making their phone calls, Fred and the Dinkley's made their way to the Malt Shop with Daphne and the Rogers.

* * *

As the group of six arrived at the Malt Shop, they were greeted by Scooby-Doo, who was waiting for them at the entrance to the diner.

"Raggy! Rugie! Raphne!" (Shaggy! Sugie! Daphne!) Scooby piped excitingly.

"Hey Scoob!" Shaggy replied excitingly as he and Sugie went to pet their pup. Turning to Fred and the Dinkley's, he added, "This is our pup Scooby-Doo."

"Rooby-Doo!" (Scooby-Doo!) Scooby said excitingly as he looked at Fred and the Dinkley's.

"Holy moly! That dog talks!" Fred exclaimed as Velma and Madelyn hides behind Sugie, being surprised by the pup.

"Like, yeah." Sugie says. "Every dog in Scooby's family can talk."

Turning to Velma and Madelyn, Sugie added, "Don't be afraid. Scooby is the kindest puppy once he gets to know you."

"Right." Daphne said before turning to Scooby, gesturing to Fred. "Scooby, this is Fred." Gesturing to Velma and her sister, she added, "Velma and her sister Madelyn."

Slowly, Velma and Madelyn came out and went to pet Scooby, who then licked on Velma's face, causing her to laugh.

Smiling, Madelyn said to her sister. "I think Scooby likes you, Velma."

Velma nodded as Fred went to pet Scooby as well. He then asked, "So, what's this place, Shag?"

"Like, it's the Malt Shop." Shaggy explained. "This is where Maggie, Daphne, Scooby and I hang out most days after school and during the summer."

"The owner likes kids." Daphne added. "It's a good place to get our after school desserts and hang out."

"Awesome!" Fred exclaimed as they all enter the Malt Shop

* * *

About an hour later, the gang made their way home after dessert.

As it turned out, Fred and the Dinkley's also lived in the neighbourhood, and after meeting their parents at the park, they all said goodbye to one another as they parted ways, with Wendy, Elizabeth, Shaggy, Sugie, Daphne and Scooby heading home in the same direction.

"So how was school today?" Elizabeth asked. "I saw that you guys made new friends."

"School was great, Auntie Elizabeth." Sugie replied, "And yeah, Norville, Daphne, Scooby and I made some new friends."

Wendy nodded. "It was great to meet Peggy and Cassandra, Elizabeth."

"I agree." Elizabeth nodded.

After the phone call from their children, Elizabeth, Wendy, Fred's mother Peggy and Mrs. Cassandra Dinkley all met at the park, where they introduced themselves and chatted as they waited for their children.

Both Peggy and Cassandra commended Wendy's husband Sam's work in trying to clean up the city's police department when the topic came to discussing their husband's jobs.

As it turned out, Fred's father Jefferson, who's nicknamed "Skip", is a lawyer who has worked frequently with District Attorney Nick Jaffe during the latter's time as a defence attorney who has represented clients suing the police department for wrongful arrest and police brutality.

Fred and his parents lived a block away from Shaggy and Daphne's block.

While Fred was born in Coolsville, his parents were actually from North Dakota, having had met during their studies at Ohio State University.

Velma, Madelyn and their parents lived in the same block as the Jones.

Like Fred, both Dinkley girls were born in Coolsville. Unlike Fred, the Velma and Madelyn's parents were actually from Cleveland, having had moved to Coolsville a month before Cassandra gave birth to Velma.

* * *

 **You may notice that I didn't have Fred reading the _National_ _Exaggerator_. That is because I felt it was one of the reasons why the WNSD, which served as a sequel to APNSD of some sort, version of Fred is more scatter-brained and clueless than he originally was.**

 **Therefore, I decided to instead have him read a magazine on mysteries and traps, which will foreshadow his interest in solving mysteries and setting up traps later on, although I have no intention of making him absent-minded like he was in the Warner Bros. era of _Scooby-Doo_ , especially in SDMI and the post-2010 DTVs.**

 **Please read and review!**


	5. 4 years later and a night in the lab

Chapter 5: Four years later and a night in the lab

 _September 7, 2007_

We now jump to four years later, by which point Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma have graduated from West Dawsburg Elementary School and are now beginning to attend Iwao Takamoto Middle School for Grade 7.

During these four years, Shaggy's father received a promotion from Captain to Inspector after he was instrumental in coordinating a major sting operation that led to the indictment of several City Hall officials prior to the 2006 election.

It was that same operation that led to a political windstorm which disrupted Deputy Chief Rupert Gosnell's efforts to reach the ninth floor of Coolsville Central and the renewal of Gil Mason's contract as the city's chief of police.

It was a sigh of relief for Sam, at least for now. He knew that Gosnell must be smarting over his failure to ascend to the ninth floor, especially since he was foiled by a chief who's considered an outsider by many in the department.

Anyways, Sam's promotion also came with a new position and office, where he's now the Assistant to the Director of the Detective Bureau.

The current Director of the Detective Bureau is Deputy Chief Derek Harewood, who reports directly to the Director of Special Operations, a post held by one of the three Assistant Chiefs that reports directly to Chief of Police Mason.

 **(Note: Deputy Chief Derek Harewood is a retconned version of the unnamed senior police officer who Shaggy's father saluted in the _A Pup Named Scooby-Doo_ episode _The Sludge Monster from Earth's Core_ , where I utilized the name of the voice actor that portrayed the character in the episode in question.)**

Harewood is one of the very few members of the department's brass that Sam knew is uncorrupted. He was the captain in charge of the Major Crimes Division when Sam was transferred back to Coolsville six years prior.

Like former Chief Strickland and a handful of the department's brass, Harewood was aware of the Incident of 1985 at the Docklands.

As a matter a fact, Harewood was the patrol sergeant that assigned Sam and Officer Sebastian Dibbles' beat in the Docklands for that particular night and had, in fact, tried to reason with then-Captain Strickland when the captain begun making arrangements for Sam's transfer to New York, arguing that Sam didn't break any rules in the shooting.

It was also then-Sergeant Harewood who broke the news of Officer S. Dibbles' death to his family after the officer's death in a gang shootout, in addition to disciplining Dibbles' new partner for failing to back S. Dibbles' up.

"Sebastian was a good man, Sam." Harewood spoke to Sam the day of his promotion to Inspector and reassignment. "A shame what happened that night."

"Indeed, Chief." Sam agreed.

In addition, Harewood has an ongoing-rivalry with Gosnell, a rivalry that stemmed from their days in the Coolsville Police College and continued as they went into patrol and then to the detective desks.

It was not clear how that rivalry began, but one thing for sure is that Harewood is no fan of Gosnell's preference of the old ways of quiet bribery and his approach to police work.

Sam will never forget the day when Gosnell received a stern warning from Harewood when he once again interrupted him in his office.

FLASHBACK - Eleven Months Ago

 _November 2, 2006_

Several weeks after his promotion to Inspector and being assigned to Harewood's office, Sam was working as usual in his new office, typing reports.

"You sure wouldn't quit your meddling, would you, Rogers?" A familiar, hostile voice asked.

"Ah, Deputy Chief Gosnell." Sam replied without stopping his typing and turning his head. "Let me guess: It's another boring day at the third floor and you can't find someone to pick on."

The third floor is where the department's Internal Affairs is situated, together with Gosnell's office.

"Far from it, Rogers." Gosnell snorted. "You sure wouldn't quit your meddling, huh?"

"What can I say?" Sam asked as he paused his typing but still not turning his head to face Gosnell. "City Hall has made the decision to renew Mason's contract as our chief, not me, so there's no need for you to be wasting your breath in my office."

"And it was thanks to your meddling, Rogers." Gosnell said. "I thought I've made it clear that I do not tolerate anyone meddling with the way this city functions. Heck, you're not even born in Coolsville!"

"Which gives you the excuse to slack off and run the city the way it is ran, eh?" Sam scoffed. "I don't think so."

Before Gosnell could respond, someone suddenly tugged him back by the shoulder.

"You'll be doing me a great favour by getting that sorry excuse of you out of my sight, Rupert." A voice said from behind.

Rupert paused and turned. Standing right behind him was Deputy Chief Derek Harewood with his arms folded.

"This is none of your business, Derek." Gosnell retorted.

"It is when Rogers is involved." Harewood replied evenly. "You may be the deputy chief in charge of Internal Affairs, but that doesn't give you the right to intimidate officers subordinate to you. If you're really having an issue with how the way things turned out, go complain to Mason."

"That slacker isn't going to resolve the issue." Gosnell huffed. "He's too busy making himself look good for the press, just like that boy Rogers here is."

"At least Rogers is working to improve matters in the city." Harewood said. "Unlike someone who's only interested in maintaining the status quo in the city and reaching the ninth floor."

Gosnell huffed but didn't say another word. When it became clear that he had no intention of leaving, Harewood walked over to him and leaned over.

"Let me make this message loud and clear, Rupert." Harewood said sternly before pointing right to Gosnell's chest and added. "If you don't quit your harassment and intimidation of Rogers, I will personally take off my badge and deal with you."

Gosnell didn't make a response, but seeing the stern look in Harewood's face lead him to retreat and walk away with another huff.

END OF FLASHBACK

* * *

That late-afternoon, George Blake left his office for home at the usual time.

The building was pretty much deserted as many of the employees have opted to leave early in anticipation of the weekend, aside from a few who are either going to stay until the evening or are working overtime.

After the elevator reached the main floor, George made his way out of the car. As he did so, he walked by Dr. William Corden, who's a research chemist at Blake Chemicals and has a tired expression on his face.

"Good evening, Dr. Corden." George spoke to the research chemist.

"Same to you, Mr. Blake." Corden nodded. "And have a nice weekend."

"Thank you." George nodded back. "Same to you, and take care."

Corden replied with another nod as he walked into the elevator car.

After the elevator door closed, however, the tired expression on Corden's face shifted to a sneaky and cunning-looking smirk as he pushed a button.

Soon, Corden was alone in his research lab located three stories below the surface, only accompanied by his dog Snitch.

Donning a pair of rubber gloves and his lab coat, Corden removed a drawer under the desk before opening a secret compartment located on the floor.

From the secret compartment, he took out a beaker containing blue-green liquid and a spray gun.

The smirk on Corden's face grew as he poured the liquid into the spray gun.

"Soon, Mr. Daggett is going to reward me dearly, Snitch." Corden said to his dog, who growled in agreement, before proceeding to spray himself with the substance loaded in the spray gun.

From a nearby wall, we can see Corden's shadow going through changes as fur grew out from his body, just like a werewolf undergoing a transformation under a full moon, with Corden laughing evilly as he underwent the transformation.

Snitch's face expression turned into that of shock when he witnessed what has become of his owner.

Corden then can be seen reaching for a mirror, and upon seeing the results of his exposure to the substance, he laughed even more.

"Success!" He laughed evilly.

* * *

 **Uh uh! What exactly just happened? What exactly did Dr. Corden just transformed into? And more importantly, what does this mean for Coolsville and our heroes?**

 **All I can say is stay tuned, and please read and review!**


	6. Hyde in lab

Chapter 6: Hyde in labs

 _September 24, 2007_

Weeks later, Coolsville was in a state of panic as the city is buzzed by the latest news of a research and development lab trashed by a mysterious creature, whom the media dubbed as "Mr. Hyde" due to its hideous appearance as captured from a security footage.

So far, the police investigations into the latest Mr. Hyde case has not made much progress, as with the investigations in the previous string of Mr. Hyde appearances, though they have not ruled out the possibility of industrial espionage or sabotage.

That morning, the mayor summoned Chief of Police Mason to his office, where he was clear in his demand in the police closing the case.

And that's how Sam found himself seated in a conference room with the department's senior command staff later that mid-morning in a meeting with Mason.

"I just got back from my meeting with Mayor Dudley at City Hall, gentlemen, and he was very clear." Chief Mason said once the meeting was in order. "He made it clear that he wants that Mr. Hyde or whatever the press is calling him captured."

"Mr. Hyde." Gosnell spoke up. "Are you talking about the maniac who's been trashing various research and development labs across the city in the past few weeks, Chief?"

"That's him alright." Mason nodded. "As all of you are aware, S.T.A.R. Labs was the latest of the R&D labs in the city to be targeted, and Dr. Henry Kaufman, who's the head of the Coolsville office of S.T.A.R. Labs, has demanded that the mayor takes care of the problem, and when the mayor is pressed with something crime-related, you all know how he always breathes down my neck."

Everyone in the room all nodded in agreement. There's no need for the chief to go further, as they all knew that if he doesn't handle to problem, he'll soon be ex-Chief of Police Gil Mason.

* * *

A short while later, Sam was back in his office after the meeting adjourned. He made a note to himself to drop by the Major Crimes Division office once he spoke with Harewood, who reckoned him to his office shortly after the meeting was adjourned.

"So what do you suppose we should proceed with this, Sam?" Harewood asked once Sam joined him in his office.

"That's a really good question, Chief." Sam replied. "It would be easier if I can ask for help, but then you know the chief isn't supportive of us getting 'outside help', if you understand what I mean."

"I do, Sam." Harewood nodded. "You mentioned that your 'friends' are out of town."

"Yes they are, sir." Sam nodded, remembering the phone call he had gotten from his contact in Gotham City two days ago about a falcon-like vigilante and a cyborg hound showing up in the City of Owls.

"Well, anyways, what do you have in mind to go forward on this?" Harewood asked.

"First thing for me to do is check on the progress of the investigation at S.T.A.R. Labs, which is currently being handled by Major Crimes." Sam replied. "Captain Brian Crowley has been keeping me in the loop since the division began its investigation into the appearances of those 'Hyde' creatures."

"One thing I feel like that I should ask you before you go, Inspector." Harewood said. "Do you believe that those 'Hyde' creatures are real?"

Sam was silent as he tried to think of a reply. Finally, he said, "I honestly have no clue what to think, Chief. However, it doesn't seem rational in my mind that someone is actually capable of transforming into a whole different species, just like how I call werewolf legends rubbish."

"Same here." Harewood nodded. "I'm pretty sure that for every paranormal or supernatural appearance in this city, there's always going to be a maniac behind the mask like your falcon friend, Sam."

"Along with motive." Sam added.

"Right." Harewood nodded. "Each crime scene tells a story, and the investigators are tasked with unlocking the secrets behind them. Now, there's gotta be a motive explaining why those research labs were attacked and trashed."

"A motive such as industrial espionage." Sam interjected.

"Yes." Harewood agreed. "Though the bigger question would be: Why would someone go through the trouble of wearing a costume when trashing a place?"

"That's a big question indeed, Chief." Sam nodded in agreement.

Soon, after his meeting with Harewood adjourned, Sam made his way to the Major Crimes Division and he soon find himself seated in Captain Brian Crowley's office and accompanied by Lieutenant Jared Stephenson, Sergeant Nelson McCormick and the latter's partner Detective Nathaniel Hughes.

 **(Note: Lieutenant Jared Stephenson is a retconned version of the unnamed police lieutenant that appeared in the TSDS episode _The No Face Zombie Chase Case_ , with his name being derived from the name of the character's original voice actor (John Stephenson))**

After Captain Crowley joined them in the office upon returning from the cafeteria for coffee, Sam began.

"So, any updates in the Hyde Case investigations, gentlemen?" He asked.

* * *

In the same time, the Grade 7 students of Iwao Takamoto Middle School were on a school field trip to S.T.A.R. Labs that day.

Among the students taking part in the field trip were Fred Jones, Shaggy Rogers, Daphne Blake and Velma Dinkley.

"Stay together, everyone." The teacher supervising the trip, Mr. Grogan, said to the students as they followed Dr. Henry Kaufman around the building. "There are plenty of places in this building that are off-limits to children due to the nature of the work being performed here, and it's easy to get lost in here."

"Oh boy." Fred rubbed his hands excitedly. "This field trip is gonna be exciting."

"Like, hopefully it includes a break at the cafeteria." Shaggy said. "I sure can use a big lunch."

"It's only nine-thirty, Shag." Daphne pointed out. "You can't possibly be hungry this soon."

"Well, you know me, Daph." Shaggy grinned sheepishly.

At that moment, someone threw a paper ball at Velma.

"Hey!" She said as she felt the impact of the paper ball hitting her back.

"Leave Velma alone, Red Herring!" Fred said in annoyance as he heard a familiar laughter from behind.

"Yeah, sure thing, Jones." Red laughed, as Fred wasn't aware that he had a "Kick Me" sign pasted to his back.

As they continued to follow the professor, they walked by a trashed door, which was barely supported by a series of crime scene tapes.

"Say, what happened in this lab, Dr. Kaufman?" Daphne asked as they walked past the door in question.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about, young lady." Dr. Kaufman replied, the German accent evident in his voice. "It was simply from an accident during one of our experiments yesterday."

"Accident?" Fred asked as he peeked into the lab behind the trashed door. "As in an explosion?"

"Yes." Dr. Kaufman nodded. "The place is dangerous for little kids like you, hence the reason it's sealed off by the tape. Now come along, everyone. We've got a schedule to keep."

As the class carried on following Dr. Kaufman, Fred took one more peek into the trashed lab.

He frowned when he noticed several claw marks around the trashed lab.

* * *

After the morning tour, the class were down in the cafeteria for lunch.

As usual, Shaggy, Fred, Velma and Daphne were seated together in one table and Shaggy was munching away at his large pile of food, much to the shock and surprise of the cafeteria staff.

"Like, I wonder why does everyone in the cafeteria have that face expression." Shaggy remarked, gesturing towards a nearby server as he spoke.

During the remark, Velma noticed Fred's puzzled expression.

"Something eating you, Freddie?" She asked.

"I was thinking about what I saw behind that door with the crime scene tape." Fred said. "Dr. Kaufman said that the huge mess in the lab was caused by an 'accidental explosion'. But I saw claw marks in the lab."

"As in some wild animal tore its way through the lab, Freddie?" Daphne asked.

"Yes." Fred nodded. "There's something he's not telling us."

"Like, could whatever happened in that lab be from Mr. Hyde?" Shaggy interjected.

"Mr. Hyde's only a story character, Shaggy." Fred said.

"Tell that to the press." Shaggy said. "I've been reading the paper lately, and there's been plenty of attacks on research labs in the city in the past couple of weeks attributed to a 'Mr. Hyde'."

"Attacks of similar nature?" Velma asked.

"Yes." Shaggy nodded. "Like, Pops and the police department are working on those attacks and from what I heard from him and read on the paper and saw on the news, all of those targeted labs were trashed and described as having claw marks."

"Just like the ones I saw in the lab we walked by this morning!" Fred said.

"Jeepers." Daphne remarked. "Could whatever happened in this lab be related to those other attacks in the city?"

"Could be the case." Shaggy shrugged.

"I will like to take another look at the trashed-up lab." Fred said. "Maybe we can see if this attack is, indeed, connected to the attacks in other labs in the city."

"Like how?" Shaggy asked as he looked around. "Lunch break isn't over for another ten minutes, but that lab looks like it'll take some walking distance to get to."

"Yeah." Daphne agreed. "What should we do if someone notices that we're missing?"

"We'll be quick." Fred said. "I just want to check it out to confirm my suspicions."

"Then, in that case, we'd better be quick." Shaggy said as they got up from their seats. "I hate to miss out on dessert."

* * *

 **What will the gang find in the trashed-up lab?**

 **Stay tuned, and please read and review!**


	7. A clue and the encounter

Chapter 7: A clue and the encounter

A short while later, the gang arrived at the trashed-up lab.

"So what's the plan, Fred?" Daphne asked as they stopped at the doorway to the lab.

"We're just going in to check and see what we might be able to find here in the lab." Fred replied. "The professor said that it was caused by an accidental explosion, but the damage in the lab looks like it was caused by some crazy maniac."

The others nodded, except for Shaggy as he looked around.

"Like, can we be quick on this, Freddie?" Shaggy asked. "What do you suggest we do if someone comes around and sees us in the lab?"

"And what should we do if the others find out that we're missing?" Daphne added.

"For the second question, we'll just say that we had trouble finding the washroom." Fred said. "As for Shag's question, I think you just provided us the answer."

"Huh?" Shaggy asked as he gestured at himself. "What do you mean?"

"I think he means you're going to stay at the doorway as a lookout for us while we search." Velma replied.

"That's exactly it." Fred nodded. "Shag, you'll keep watch for us and if someone comes by, give us a shout."

Shaggy swallowed. "I sure don't like the sound of this."

"Don't worry, Shag." Daphne said. "We're going to be quick."

Then to herself, she added, "I hope."

Shaggy nodded but didn't say another word, and Fred motioned the girls to crawl under the crime scene tape as he held it up higher.

Soon, the trio found themselves in the trashed-up lab and looked around.

"Be careful." Fred instructed them. "Don't touch anything on the floor and watch out for broken glass."

"Right." Velma and Daphne both nodded as they looked around. "I hope we find something."

As Fred and the girls searched throughout the lab, Shaggy was waiting patiently at the door.

He glanced at his watch, taking note that they've got just one more minute before the tour resumes.

"Come on..." He muttered under his breath impatiently. "You guys better find something soon."

Just then, a German-accented voice suddenly said, "Vhat are you doing here, little child?"

Shaggy jumped before turning and found himself face-to-face with Professor Kaufman, who was standing there with his arms folded.

"P-P-Professor Kaufman?" Shaggy asked before swallowing and looked around. "I-"

"What are you doing here alone?" Professor Kaufman repeated. "Shouldn't you be with your schoolmates and be preparing to return to the tour?"

"Well, uh, you see, Professor..." Shaggy swallowed before continuing, "My friends are actually using the washroom over here and I am, uh, waiting for them."

"Washroom?" Professor Kaufman raised an eyebrow. "There's one right by the cafeteria. You kids could've used one over there..."

"Um, it's full with a lineup, sir." Shaggy quickly said. "One of us...uh, couldn't hold much longer while waiting, so we decided to look around for another washroom and found this one here."

"Huh. I see." Professor Kaufman nodded, though Shaggy can tell that he was skeptical of his explanation. "Tell your friends to hurry up and return to your schoolmates, as soon as possible."

The professor then walked away and Shaggy sighed in relief.

"That was a close call." Shaggy thought to himself.

It was then that Fred and the girls emerged from trashed-up lab.

"Found something, guys?" Shaggy asked when he saw his friends.

"Just this piece of what doesn't appear to be human hair at all." Fred replied as he showed Shaggy the piece of hair Velma found earlier.

"Perhaps it is fur?" Shaggy offered.

"We will soon find out after school." Fred said as he put the hair in a small zip-up plastic bag before snapping off the rubber gloves he was wearing. "Now let's go back to the cafeteria, guys!"

"Right." Daphne nodded as they headed down the hallway.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Professor Kaufman was listening to the conversation nearby at a perpendicular hallway and his frown deepened.

* * *

Later that afternoon, the tour of S.T.A.R. Labs was over and it was time for the school faculty to return back to Iwao Takamoto Middle School, where the students are then dismissed from school for the day.

Walking down the sidewalk, the four discussed what Velma discovered in the lab during the search.

"I'm positive that this piece of fabric is fur." Daphne said. "Could be our friend who's been trashing all the research labs across town."

"Maybe." Fred said. "But we're going to need some help if we want to identify it."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Shaggy asked. "If I may say something, we can't obviously tell someone like Pops that we picked it up in a lab that was trashed up."

"My parents have the lab equipment at home for their research." Velma said. "But they always keep track on what equipment has been used, and I can't tell them that we found this fabric in the trashed-up lab."

By this point, it was getting cloudy in the sky with weather reports calling for evening showers that day.

"You kids should have stayed out of the trashed-up lab earlier during lunchtime." A voice suddenly said.

The quartet stopped dead in their tracks when they heard the remark.

"Uh...Shaggy?" Daphne asked. "This is probably not a good time to practice your ventriloquism."

"That wasn't me, Daph." Shaggy quickly said. "I haven't been practicing my ventriloquism since the first day of school."

"If it wasn't you, who was it?" Fred asked as they looked around.

"That will be me, kids." The voice said as its source emerged from the dark alleyway, revealing a dark-greyish-blue demonic-looking hound.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy exclaimed as everyone jumped in fright. "It's..."

"Never mind who I am." The hound said as he approached the kids in a menacing fashion. "A friend told me that you kids had picked up fabric in a lab that is obviously too dangerous for you kids to enter, and I simply cannot allow that to happen again."

"We were just curious about what had happened in that lab, Mr. Hound." Fred said nervously. "The professor told us that it was caused by an accident, but from what I saw through the open doorway while we were walking by the lab earlier this morning, it looked more like it was caused by a wild animal trashing up the place."

"Like what has happened in other research labs across the city this past few weeks." Velma added.

"I see." The hound nodded. "You kids should've known that it's dangerous to be playing detective like that, especially when the place you've searched is where dangerous chemicals are stored, not to mention that the fabric you picked up could've been tainted with something dangerous. Something radioactive, for instance, and I don't suppose you kids are trained on how to handle stuff like that, are you?"

The quartet looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"We were wearing gloves when we picked up the fabric." Daphne said.

"Rubber gloves, to be precise." Fred added.

"And we have it stored in a small plastic zipper bag for it to be examined." Velma added.

"So you kids have taken precautions." The hound said. "Good for you, though I would like it if you kids don't take such dangerous risks again. What would you do if another staff member caught you kids in the act?"

The quartet looked at each other and shrugged.

"Anyways." The hound stretched out its paw. "I will have the fabric examined for you, if you don't mind, but next time, stay out of trouble."

Seeing the paw and the hound's eyes demanding that they hand over the fabric, the quartet looked at each other. Then, Fred sighed as he produced the small plastic zipper bag containing the fabric and handed it over to the hound.

The hound nodded as it stored the fabric in a compartment, then without another word, it activated its rocket boosters and took off as it shifted into the size of a small bird.

Watching the hound-turned-bird flying away, Fred turned to the others.

"Well, there goes our only clue into the attack in the lab, gang." Fred sighed.

"Then, what should we do next, Freddie?" Daphne asked.

"I guess the only thing we could do next is wait for the hound comes back with the analysis complete." Velma said. "I hope."

"And I've got a feeling that if we don't stop what we're doing, we're not going to hear or see the last of that hound that's clearly no Scooby." Shaggy added.

In that same time, the bird produced a wireless radio communication device and spoke. "I got the fabric, Professor."

"Good." Professor Kaufman replied from the other end while seated in his car. "Hopefully, this fabric can tell us more about the attack in the lab."

"As well as telling us about the disappearance of Professor Henry Kaufman, BF." The bird added.

"Right." "Professor Kaufman" nodded as his shadow formed into the shape of a giant falcon.

* * *

 **So the mystery deepens. In addition to the attack in several research labs across Coolsville, Professor Kaufman is also missing!**

 **Is there a connection between the two cases? All I can say is stay tuned, and please read and review!**


	8. A hostile encounter & the meeting

Chapter 8: A hostile encounter and the meeting

That evening, Inspector Sam Rogers was taking a break from the day's work in his office.

He had earlier phoned Wendy and told her that he will be arriving home late after a meeting, and he is now pacing down the hallway in Coolsville Central for his break.

As he returned to his office, he didn't notice three uniformed officers approaching him from behind as he rounded a corner.

"Well, well, Inspector Rogers." One of the three cops said, causing Sam to stop and turn his head. "Spending the late evening at work again, I see."

Sam immediately recognized the three police officers walking towards him: Sergeant Jared Gunn, Officer Kutler Beyda and Officer Ryan Suckle, all of them Deputy Chief Gosnell's strong-arm thugs.

"Word has it that you've been spending every night here in headquarters." Gunn said as the trio approached Sam. "Heavy workload must've kept you awake, eh?"

"I'm just clearing my head at the moment, sergeant." Sam replied nonchalantly. "What brings you and the fellas here tonight?"

"Nothing special, sir, you being an inspector and you've got your motives." Gunn replied. "I never question you on that, but Chief Gosnell..."

"I've already spoke to Chief Gosnell, gentlemen." Sam cut in, aware of where the conversation is heading. "What else do you have to add for me?"

"Definitely something more for you to think about, Yankee." Gunn sneered. "About the way things are supposed to be in this city."

The three officers then proceeded to circle Sam with their batons ready. However, while he can see the fierceness in the eyes of the three officers, Sam can also see the wariness in their eyes as well.

"They sure remembered what had happened to Claphammer." Sam thought to himself.

It all reminded him of the time his then-partner Detective Sergeant Walter Claphammer and a few others at the station roughed him up in order to teach him the way of things of Coolsville.

Unfortunately, the plan backfired on Claphammer as it only succeeded in reinforcing Sam's determination, who later got even with him by running his car off the road and then beat him up one-on-one.

Claphammer emerged from that humiliated and exposed, while Sam walked away from it stronger and more determined.

Things only went from bad to worse for Claphammer after that episode. First, he ran afoul of the Blue Falcon and Dynomutt one night while about to receive a bribe from a drug gang.

Next, the Daring Duo managed to turn Al Houser, who then gave up his name in the course of the investigation and testifying in court.

Claphammer will eventually agree to then-Assistant DA Nick Jaffe's plea bargain, where he testified against then-Chief Strickland in exchange for a reduced prison sentence. After that court case, Claphammer resigned from the force while Sam was promoted to captain.

 **(See _Coolsville Central: Coolsville: Year One_ )**

"I highly doubt you fellas have more for me to think about." Sam said, bracing himself.

"Huh." Gunn spat as he swung his baton aggressively. "We'll see about th-"

Before Gunn could finish his sentence, without warning, Sam suddenly stuck first, slamming his fist right into where his stomach was at.

The two others were caught off guard by Sam's maneuvers, and it didn't take long for the inspector to dispatch them.

Sam may be reaching his middle ages, but the Marine Corps martial arts training he went through all those years ago remains freshly ingrained in his mind and body.

Several minutes went by as the officers tried to counter attack, only for Sam to anticipate their moves and got them slammed onto the nearby walls or desks.

However, just as Sam thought that the fight was going to be over, he suddenly felt a surge of electricity going through his body.

Sergeant Gunn managed to grab his Taser during the fight and used it on Sam, causing the inspector to eventually collapse to the floor.

"You New York guys sure fight dirty." Gunn said as he and the two others surrounded Sam.

"Yeah." Beyda sneered. "Let's drag him to the roof and teach him a lesson he'll sure never forget."

"Great idea, Kutler." Suckle agreed.

As the three crooked officers dragged Sam to the nearest roof exit, neither of them noticed a giant falcon-shaped shadow following them.

Soon, the three officers were ready to force Sam to do the big drop from the roof.

"Why can't you just shut up and take the money and look the other way, Inspector?" Gunn sneered as Sam began to stir. "That could've been you, not to mention that you would've been richer and can provide for your family well."

"Yeah." Suckle said as he kicked Sam. "What do you say about that?"

"Huh?" Gunn asked as he leaned forward and face-to-face with Sam with a smirk on his face.

Sam didn't change his face expression, nor does he look worried. All he did was spitting right into Gunn's face.

"Up yours." He said quietly.

"Figures." Gunn said as he rubbed his face. "Looks like you get to learn that the hard way. Get him ready, boys."

Beyda and Suckle both nodded as they lifted Sam up, preparing to swing him and then let go of him, tossing him off the roof.

However, as Gunn looked on with a smirk on his face, he didn't realize that a strong length of rope attached to a falcon-shaped boomerang was wrapping itself around his chest and stomach.

A split-second later, Gunn was suddenly yanked into the air. It happened so fast that he didn't have time to notice the boomerang.

"Yahhhhhh!" Gunn screamed before he disappeared into the dark night sky as Beyda and Suckle looked on in horror. Nothing happened after that.

The two officers dropped Sam as they looked up into the night sky in disbelief.

"What in the...?" Beyda asked.

"It's him!" Suckle said. "That falcon! It must be him!"

The two officers then started aiming their service weapons towards the sky as Suckle continued, "This must be what staying late in his office every evening is for! He must be waiting for him!"

"But where the devil is he?" Beyda asked as he and Suckle looked up.

It was clear that panic was setting into the two crooked officers, and several long minutes of nothing was only further fueling the panic.

In fact, the scare had given them the creeps to the point that the officers couldn't even hear the Blue Falcon approaching. Well, truth be told, Sam couldn't hear him either.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud!" Suckle exclaimed. "Where is he? Where-"

"Shut up!" Beyda exclaimed, he and Suckle completely unaware that their target was fast approaching them from behind.

And then, it happened. The Blue Falcon touched down by suddenly striking their heads with his fists, stunning them from behind.

As the Blue Falcon fought the two corrupt officers, Sam got up and observed. He sure can see the amount of training Radley Crown must've went through all those years ago since he had confronted the boy at Tex Avery Lane.

Sam snapped out of his thoughts as he watched Beyda slammed into a nearby wall.

"Now that's gotta hurt." Sam thought to himself, having had heard a crack coming from Beyda. It was either the wall or a bone inside Beyda's body or both.

And then, Sam saw Suckle made the mistake of pulling his gun and aim it at the Blue Falcon.

Without turning his head back, BF suddenly produced a falcon-shaped shuriken and threw it towards Suckle.

The sharp-edged weapon sank into Suckle's hand, causing the officer to drop his weapon and exclaim in pain.

Realizing that he no longer has any weapons, Suckle figured that the wise option is to retreat.

As he turned and run, trying to reach the door to the building, the Blue Falcon suddenly threw a falcon-shaped boomerang attached to a length of rope, which then wrapped itself around the fleeing officers' legs.

Sam looked on as Suckle fell to the ground and got dragged to the edge of the roof, where BF then picked him up.

"Oh no!" Suckle exclaimed in fright. "Please don't..."

"Now you listen up, dirtbag." The Blue Falcon said as he grabbed Suckle by the collar and forced him to face him face-to-face. "Let this be a message and warning to you crooked cronies who disgraces your badges!"

Suckle swallowed as the Blue Falcon continued through gritted teeth, "From this moment on, after 19:00, this floor and area is off-limits to anyone except for Inspector Sam Rogers!"

Leaning closer to the frightened officer, BF then added, "Did I make this message loud and clear?"

Swallowing, Suckle nodded.

"Good." BF said. "Now get moving. The inspector and I have something to discuss in private!"

Before Suckle could do anything, BF suddenly pushed him over the edge of the roof!

"No!" Sam exclaimed as he rushed over before stopping, remembering that BF doesn't kill.

As if to prove his point, BF grabbed onto the rope attached to Suckle and slowly begin lowering the officer down to the ground.

Looking over the edge of the roof, Sam can see Suckle laying on the ground, struggling to get himself free from the boomerang.

"You okay?" BF asked, turning to Sam.

"Oh, don't worry." Sam waved his arm as he turned to BF. "I've been through worse."

BF nodded silently, not saying a word.

"And I see you're back in town." Sam said. "I take it that your trip to Gotham was no vacation, eh?"

"It was for work." BF replied. "Especially with the latest Hyde appearance and the disappearance of Professor Henry Kaufmann."

"Did you find anything at S.T.A.R. Labs?" Sam asked.

"Only a sample of fur that we have identified as being from Mr. Hyde." BF said. "Dynomutt has analysed the sample, and I don't think you're going to believe this, but the fur sample contains traces of a chemical that is manufactured exclusively by Blake Enterprises."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Are you telling me that George Blake has something to do with these Hyde appearances?"

"It's a possibility, even though George Blake isn't the type that will use his company's innovation for selfish purposes." BF said.

"Right." Sam nodded. "Not to mention that we are still lacking a motive, unless you consider industrial sabotage."

"Exactly." BF agreed. "But I digress. Besides that chemical manufactured exclusively by Blake Enterprises, you can see traces of a serum that contains a certain virus can alter the genetic code of the subject exposed to the serum."

"Which gives us that hideous Mr. Hyde appearance." Sam interjected. "Sounds like if someone comes into contact with Mr. Hyde himself, or whoever he really is, that someone can also get infected by the Hyde virus and potentially transform into Hyde creatures."

"Right." BF nodded. "Now, Dynomutt is working on breaking down the code of the serum and other chemicals found in the sample of the fur. Hopefully, through his deep analysis of the fur, we can develop an antidote to the serum that has transformed whoever our man is into Mr. Hyde."

"And in the meantime, we still ought to be on the lookout on where Mr. Hyde could strike next." Sam added. "I suppose the first thing I'll do tomorrow is to send one of my detectives to interview Mr. Blake and those involved in his chemical research division."

"Yes. You do that, Inspector." BF said. "But here's another thing you've ought to take care of, Sam."

"What is it?" Sam asked.

BF turned and looked at him right in the eyes. "I suggest you encourage your son Norville to find an actual hobby to do."

Sam's eyebrows raised higher. "My son...?"

"I haven't mention how exactly I got the sample of fur." BF said before proceeding to tell Sam about his encounter with the kids in S.T.A.R. Labs and how Dynomutt managed to track them down and made them hand over the clue.

"I see." Sam nodded understandingly. "I can understand why you did what you did, Blue Falcon. Looks like that's another thing I'll have to..."

As Sam made the remark, he turned around, only to find that the Blue Falcon was nowhere to be seen.

Sighing, Sam walked towards the door as he muttered, "Looks like someone's been spending too much time in Gotham and has gotten someone else's bad habits."

Through his contact in Gotham City, Sam learned about that contact's other contact's tendency to disappear in the middle of a conversation.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	9. A talk in the kitchen

Chapter 9: A talk in the kitchen

That evening, after finishing his homework and dinner, Shaggy sat at the living room with his sister Sugie and Scooby as they watched television.

"Just one movie, children." Wendy told them earlier. "Then it's off to bed. Tonight's a school night."

"Yes, Mom." Both Shaggy and Sugie nodded.

At that moment, the trio were watching a fantasy movie and the television was at a scene as a major character was having a flashback.

"Now, let's see what the damage is this year, shall we?" A man with grey-white hair and dressed in a dark suit was saying.

The man then proceeded to take the Jack-o-Lantern-shaped bucket and dumped its contents into a metal bowl, revealing the large amount of candy the boy seated across the table from him received during that Halloween's trick-or-treating earlier.

The man then looked through the candy until he picked up one particular candy wrapped in orange wrapper with a Jack-o-Lantern face on it and held it up.

"Caramels." The man said with a hint of venom in his voice indicating his disapproval in the candy. "They get stuck in your braces, wouldn't they?"

Without waiting for an answer from the boy, he tossed the caramel candy back into the metal bowl.

The boy, who was wearing a clunky set of braces, didn't say a word as his father searched through the bowl briefly before picking up an orange lollipop.

"Lollipops." The man said as he held up one, the venom in his voice even more pronounced. "What we called: Cavities on a stick."

The man then tossed the lollipop back into the bowl before searching through it and scooped up some more candy.

"And then, we have all of this...all of this...chocolate." The man said bitterly before tossing the chocolate he had scooped up back into the bowl.

"You know, just last week I was reading a very important medical journal." The man continued, looking at his son as he spoke. "It says that some children are allergic to chocolate."

He the held a finger by his nose as he continued, "It makes their noses itch."

"Maybe I'm not allergic." The boy said, speaking for the first time in the scene. "Maybe I can try a piece."

"Really?" The man asked. "But why take a chance?"

Then, without a word, the man took the bowl of candy, walked over to the fireplace and tossed all the candy into the fire.

Immediately, the flames started turning light green-blue from the burning of the candies and their plastic wrappers as the boy looked on.

"Like, wow." Sugie remarked as the scene returns to the present-day in the movie. "That guy sure can make one terrifying dentist."

"Yeah, especially since this guy was Count Dracula and Count Dooku in other movies." Shaggy nodded. "Can't trust a dentist who was a vampire and a Sith Lord."

"Reah." Scooby agreed.

 **(Which actor are the trio talking about here? Also, what movie are they watching?)**

As the trio sat by and enjoyed the rest of the movie, Wendy heard the front door unlocking. She smiled as her husband Sam opened the door and walked in.

"How was work, dear?" Wendy asked her husband.

"The usual." Sam replied. "It pains me to say, though, that it has occurred to me that I need a word with Norville while he is enjoying the movie."

"Norville?" Wendy asked as she arched her eyebrows. "What gives?"

"Let's just say that a friend of mine working at S.T.A.R. Labs caught him at the wrong place at the wrong time." Sam replied. "And that friend suggested to me that he could use an actual hobby."

Wendy thought for a while before nodding understandingly.

Shaggy, Sugie and Scooby all looked up when they saw Sam walking into the living room.

"Like, hi Dad." Shaggy said.

"Hi Norville." Sam said. "Listen, son. Do you have a moment or two?"

"Um, yes Dad." Shaggy nodded as he got up from the sofa. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly." Sam replied. "I just need to speak with you on something."

He then gestured towards the kitchen as he continued, "It won't take long."

"Uh...sure thing." Shaggy nodded as he followed his father into the kitchen.

After they both sat at the dining table, Shaggy then asked, "So what is it that you'll like to speak to me on, Dad?"

"Well...I hope I'm not overstepping my boundaries with regards to your privacy, son." Sam began. "But...it has occurred to me on if you've got any hobbies to keep yourself busy."

"Hobbies?" Shaggy raised an eyebrow. "Well, besides guitar classes, piano classes, taking care of Scooby with Maggie and sketching...not much."

"I see." Sam nodded understandingly. "Not even going out with friends and...hanging around?"

"Uh...where's this conversation heading, Pops?" Shaggy asked when he noticed the serious demeanor in his father's face, though deep down, he knew the answer.

Sam leaned over and said, "I've got a friend working at S.T.A.R. Labs and this early afternoon, he caught you wondering in places you shouldn't have been at alone. What brought you to the research lab?"

"It was a school field trip, Dad." Shaggy explained. "And...it just so happened that Fred, who's one of my friends at school, saw the closed lab that was...er...in a huge mess, like, as if it was caused by some lousy housekeeper and he became curious."

"Curious on what?" Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Curious about what happened in the lab." Shaggy said. "Professor Kaufman insisted that the mess was caused by an accidental explosion, but Fred didn't believe the professor's story, especially after seeing scratch marks in the lab room through the open doorway, so...yeah."

"So you and him went to check things out in the lab during lunchtime in spite of the crime scene tape that makes the place off-limits?" Sam asked.

"Not just me and Fred, Dad." Shaggy said. "Velma and Daphne went with us too. Well, us isn't quite the right word, because I didn't enter the lab myself. Fred and the girls went in and I was to be the lookout."

"I see." Sam nodded thoughtfully.

There was some uncomfortable silence between the father and son before Sam continued, "Well, I do hope that that's the last time you and your friends do something like that. You never know what kind of danger lurks around, so I'll make sure that you and your friends find proper hobbies to do."

Shaggy nodded. "Understood, Pops. I'm guess you're going to speak to the other parents as well?"

"Pretty much." Sam nodded. "Now, I don't want you and your friends to risk your necks playing detective, son. For work like that, only professionals like me can handle it properly and responsibly in a safe manner."

Shaggy nodded again before his father got up. End of conversation.

As Shaggy returned to Sugie and Scooby in watching the movie, he wondered what the others are going to say about their talks with their parents regarding the issue the next day.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	10. Discussions

Chapter 10: Discussions

 _September 25, 2007_

The next day, school went by as usual for the students. However, Shaggy wasn't able to keep his father's conversation the day before out of his mind.

During lunchtime, as Shaggy thought about what his father told him the day before, his friends noticed that he wasn't eating much like he typically does.

"Shag, is something eating you?" Fred asked as he put down his sandwich.

"Yeah." Velma said. "You look like something's bothering you."

"Like, I don't know, guys." Shaggy said. "Do you guys think that we did the right thing yesterday at S.T.A.R. Labs?"

"What do you mean by that, Shag?" Fred asked.

"My dad had a talk with me last night, and he told me that I should consider getting a proper hobby and make yesterday's snooping around the last time I take part in one." Shaggy explained. "He wasn't mad at me, but the stern tone in his voice says it all."

"Shag's got a point." Daphne said. "My parents also discussed the affair with me last night and they were also clear about me staying out of taking part of activities like the one we did yesterday."

"As did mine." Velma added. "Although they didn't quite make a big deal out of it, I can tell that they're still willing to make sure that I stay out of trouble that can originate from me taking part in those kind of activities."

"You guys all have points on that." Fred said. "We should have thought of what our parents were going to do if they find out on what we've did."

"They did, Freddie." The other three rolled their eyes.

"I know." Fred said. "What I meant was, we're old enough to look after ourselves and there's no need for them to get worried about our activities and whether we might get hurt. After all, people do get hurt while doing sports from time to time."

"True." The other three all nodded.

"And besides, if we can get to the bottom of that mess Mr. Hyde has left at S.T.A.R. Labs yesterday and find out who he really is, then we can prove to our parents that we can take care of ourselves." Fred continued. "You actually said it yourself, Daphne: 'There's no such thing as monsters.'"

"Right." Daphne nodded thoughtfully.

"I suppose you're right on taking care of ourselves as well, Fred." Shaggy said. "Though we still have to be careful."

"Don't worry, Shag." Fred said. "As long as we don't get hurt or endanger ourselves, we should be fine."

* * *

Meanwhile, over at Blake Enterprises, Sam was conferring with George regarding the development on the Hyde serum.

"Now, I'm not accusing you of anything, George." Sam was speaking. "It's just that my men and I need a better lay of the land before we can fully pinpoint on who's actually responsible for the Hyde appearances."

"I understand, Sam." George nodded. "If I were to find out on one of my managers authorizing the development of such chemicals, then I would've fired that manager on the spot."

It was then that George's desk phone rang and upon seeing the caller ID, he picked it up.

Eying the serious expression on George's face, Sam got up from his seat and headed out of the office. "I'll be outside while you have your phone call."

George nodded before answering the telephone.

Outside, Sam took a look at his watch as he waited for George to finish his telephone call. During this time, he spotted a tired Dr. Corden walking down the hallway towards him.

"Is Mr. Blake...?" Dr. Corden asked.

"He's on the phone right now." Sam replied. "And you are..."

"Doctor William Corden." Dr. Corden introduced himself. "Blake Chemicals."

"Inspector Sam Rogers." Sam said as he offered his hand while revealing his badge. "Coolsville Police Department."

"Ah, I suppose you're investigating those Mr. Hyde appearances lately, eh?" Dr. Corden asked as he shook hands with Sam.

"Precisely, Doctor." Sam nodded.

As they shook hands, Sam thought he could hear George yelling into the phone.

"For the last time, Daggett." George can be heard yelling. "Blake Enterprises is not for sale! I don't care how much money you're going to offer to me. Money will never make me give up a family-run company that has been in the hands of my family for generations!"

"Not for sale?" Sam asked as he turned to Corden.

"Well, word has it that Blake Enterprises has began losing steam on the stock market, Inspector Rogers." Corden explained. "Mr. Daggett of Daggett Pharmaceutical has been offering generous sums of money to buy out Blake Enterprises and push it ahead of its competitors."

"I see." Sam nodded. He hadn't picked up the newspaper when he got to work that morning, so he hasn't caught onto the headline on the possibility of Blake Enterprises being on sale.

A short second later, the two men heard George slamming the phone before calling, "You can come back in."

Sam nodded as he opened the door and made his way into George's office, flanked by Dr. Corden.

"Ah, Dr. Corden." George says when he saw Corden following Sam. "I take it that you're following the Hyde Case, eh?"

"Indeed I am, and I thought I might want to help out." Corden replied. "Especially since word has it that someone within Blake Enterprises may be involved in the Hyde appearances."

"Right, with the traces of Hyde transformation serum in a chemical manufactured by Blake Enterprises exclusively, that could be trouble." George nodded with a frown.

"Anyways, I got a friend who is researching the chemical compound and seeing if he can come up with an antidote that can reverse the transformation process." Sam said.

"Hopefully, that antidote can be used before the press gets wind on Blake Enterprises' alleged involvement in the Hyde appearances, because if they do, then it's bad news for Blake Enterprises." George says. "Not to mention that we still have to work on finding out who is actually responsible for the mess."

"Exactly." Sam nodded.

* * *

Shortly after the meeting adjourned, Dr. Corden returned to his lab. It was empty as many were out for lunch for the hour. Just the setting Corden wanted.

"Those fools think they need some time to develop the antidote to my Hyde formula, Snitch." He spoke to his dog as he reached into a drawer he opened at his desk.

Snitch growled in agreement before the scientist revealed a flask containing red liquid.

"Here's the antidote I've developed, Snitch." Dr. Corden said. "Afterall, if I were to remain as Mr. Hyde all day, there's no way I could make my getaway and that I could end up getting caught."

Snitch growled again.

"Anyways, now to carry on with Mr. Daggett's plan to ruin Blake Enterprises and then once this is all over, I can retire to the beach in Miami!" Dr. Corden grinned devilishly before laughing.

His laugh was cut short when he heard his own stomach growling.

"Oh, I suppose it's time for us to get to lunch, Snitch." Dr. Corden said. "Come on, boy."

The dog nodded as he joined his master in heading out for lunch.

Unbeknownst to the duo, the nearby radio was actually a listening device that has just recorded what the scientist had said.

* * *

At the other end of the radio in question, a certain figure was listening to the conversation down in a certain cave in front of a large computer.

"I presume you're doing your part in investigating those 'Hyde Creatures' of Coolsville, sir?" A middle-aged butler carrying a tray of food asked the figure in question as he approached the computer.

"Yes, Alfred." The figure in question nodded. "Someone's been doing a great deal in work trying to ruin Blake Enterprises' good name, especially at a time when Daggett Pharmaceutical is trying to buy out Blake Enterprises, I thought I might lend a hand to the Blue Falcon in sorting out the mess."

"I take it that you had some history with Mr. Bartemius Daggett, sir?" Alfred asked.

"From my past business trips to Coolsville." The figure nodded again. "Bartemius is the head of Daggett Pharmaceutical and as the cousin of Roland Daggett, I have my reasons to be concerned about the potential buy out of Blake Enterprises, since Daggett Industries has a long history of environmental and labour violations, in addition to unethical business practices."

Alfred nodded thoughtfully.

"Sounds like you're going to hear more from Master Radley for the next while, Master Bruce." Alfred said.

"Yes indeed." Bruce nodded. "He will definitely want to know what I have discovered from the sample of Hyde formula extracted from the hair his canine partner obtained, and it's something that will make things go ugly if things go completely wrong."

"Like a epidemic, perhaps?" Alfred asked.

"Exactly." Bruce nodded grimly, his shadow forming into a shape of a bat.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	11. Bring Your Child To Work Day

Chapter 11: Bring Your Child To Work Day

 _September 26, 2007_

The next day was Bring Your Child To Work Day for Iwao Takamoto Middle School. As a result, there was no class for the gang and each were at their parents' respective workplaces.

Velma was at her father Steve's workplace at Quest Research Labs, which was one of the labs targeted by Mr. Hyde earlier during the month.

"On the bright side, I may be able to find a clue or two about Mr. Hyde while at my father's office." Velma told Fred earlier the day before.

Fred spent his day at his father's office at the Office of the Coolsville District Attorney, where he now works as an Assistant District Attorney under District Attorney Nicholas Jaffe.

Like Jaffe, Fred's father Jefferson "Skip" Jones is a vocal opponent of the corrupt establishment in Coolsville and has a reputation in being relentless in the prosecution of corrupt officials.

His relentless pursuit of justice, greater transparency and accountability, in addition to his stubborn defiance against the corrupt establishment, earned him the reputation of being fierce as well as Jaffe's trust.

Fred began his day at his father's office reading the newspaper, where the first thing that caught his attention was the news on Senator Francis Jones, who represents Coolsville's Senate District in the Ohio Senate, announcing with Mayor Dudley that his request that the state government increase its law enforcement resources to combat the rampant corruption in Coolsville has been approved.

 **(Note: Senator Francis Jones is a retconned version of Mayor Fred Jones, Sr. from _Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated_ for this series, where his first name is changed in order to ensure no confusion between him and Fred. As with the series in question, he's not related to Fred and the family of Skip Jones in any way.)**

The senator stated that the money will mainly go into streamlining the Coolsville Police Department and make it better equipped in handling corruption investigations.

Reading the news article, Fred shook his head in annoyance on the news of the senator's announcement.

"Senator Jones sure is naive on the city's problems, Dad." Fred remarked to his father. "He doesn't realize that the police department itself is also corrupt and is part of the problem. This is like using cancer cells to try to cure cancer."

"Indeed, son." Skip nodded in agreement. "It's going to be up to someone to lecture him properly when he campaigns for reelection in next year's election."

Francis Jones was first elected to represent Coolsville's Senate District for a four-year term three years ago, back in 2004.

While the Ohio Senate seats are up for grabs every two years, elections are staggered so that half the Senate is up for grabs every two years. In other words, Francis Jones will not be up for reelection until 2008.

Anyways, the Jones, who are not related to the senator in question, has reasons to be concerned about the latest announcement.

Even before he was elected to the Ohio Senate, Francis Jones has acquired a conservative, reluctant for change reputation during his tenure as a city councilman, first elected in 1990.

Under Mayor Sebastian Yindel, who served as Mayor of Coolsville in the mid-late-1990s up to 2001, Jones was appointed as deputy mayor. Throughout his tenure, he either showed lack of knowledge or complete ignorance to Yindel's corruption and not doing much in implementing change and simply agreeing with the status quo.

He had strong political connections to state politics, particularly with the governing party in the state, which came in handy when he ran for Coolsville's seat in the Ohio Senate in 2004, two years after declining to seek reelection in the Coolsville City Council.

When Yindel was later tried for corruption a year after losing his bid for reelection in 2001, Jones, who was a lawyer before running for the city council, defended the disgraced mayor during the ex-mayor's corruption trial. Although many of the charges were later dropped, Yindel still ended up with a three-year prison sentence.

After his remarks, Fred looked at the photo of the senator making the announcement in front of City Hall.

The man sure looked tall and is dressed in his usual black suit with a red tie. Fred also noted the square jaw and his black hair with grey streaks, together with his black framed glasses.

Fred snorted before proceeding to read the other sections of the newspaper while his father prepared some files in preparation for a meeting at Coolsville Central.

* * *

Meanwhile, Daphne was at her father's office at the headquarters of Blake Enterprises. It was her father that decided to give her a walkthrough around the building that made up Blake Enterprises headquarters in the heart of the business district of downtown Coolsville.

Among the places Daphne was led to included the laboratories of Blake Chemicals. Along the way to the main lab, the father and daughter walked by Dr. Corden and his dog Snitch.

"Morning, Doctor." George said to Corden.

"Morning, Mr. Blake." Corden said as he scratched his back. "Brought your daughter to work, I see."

"Yes." George nodded. "It's Bring Your Child to Work Day at Iwao Takamoto Middle School."

"Ah, I see." Dr. Corden nodded.

Turning to Daphne, George said, "Daphne, this is Doctor Corden. He works in the research division of Blake Chemicals."

Daphne turned to Dr. Corden and offered her hand. "Nice knowing you, Doctor."

"Likewise." Corden replied humbly as he shook Daphne's hand.

During the handshake, Daphne thought that his hand felt furry.

After Dr. Corden left, Daphne looked at her hand and saw brown fur on it. Her eyes narrowed when she recalled that the fur sample they picked up at S.T.A.R. Labs was the same shade of brown.

"Could it be...?" Daphne thought to herself.

"Daphne?" Her father asked.

"Huh?" Daphne asked as her father's questioning snapped her back to reality before realizing that she has stopped walking.

"Is something wrong?" George asked as he turned to his daughter.

Daphne looked up at her father before shaking her head.

"I...uh...just remembered some unfinished homework from science class that was assigned yesterday." Daphne said.

"Ah, I see." George nodded understandingly before the duo continued on walking down the hallway.

As they did so, Daphne turned her head back and looked towards Dr. Corden's retreating figure.

Her eyes narrowed when she noticed that Dr. Corden's neck looked unusually hairy.

She made a note to shadow Dr. Corden when her father leaves for a business meeting later in the day.

* * *

In the same time, Shaggy found himself at the Coolsville Central Building with his father Sam at work.

"Okay, Norville." Sam said as he prepared to leave his office for a meeting with Deputy Chief Harewood and other command staff with the Detective Bureau, not long after introducing his son to Lieutenant Mark Krebs, who is assigned to his office. "You know the drill on what to do."

"Right, Dad." Shaggy nodded, eying Lieutenant Krebs. "Like, if I need something, I let Lieutenant Krebs know, and he'll reach for you, right?"

"You got it, son." Sam nodded. "And remember what I told you about giving your eyes a rest."

"Right." Shaggy said before his father stepped out of his office and closed the door.

After his father left, Shaggy turned on the laptop and logged onto his Facebook.

The first thing he noticed was Daphne's PM message to him, Velma and Fred.

"Hey guys, I think I have found our main suspect for being the Hyde mastermind." The message says. "I'm going to shadow him and see what he's up to."

Shaggy arched his eyebrows at the message.

"Someone in Blake Enterprises is involved in the mess?" Shaggy thought to himself. "Doesn't sound good. Daph might get into big trouble! I've got to meet up with the others somehow...but how?"

He looked around and saw Lieutenant Krebs speaking on the telephone.

"Like, maybe now's my chance." Shaggy thought as he opened the office door.

However, the moment he opened the door, the lieutenant finished his phone call and hung up, Shaggy retreated when the lieutenant turned towards the office door.

"Maybe this isn't a good idea." Shaggy thought to himself as he retreated.

A few minutes went by before Shaggy decided to peek out of the office window, where he saw a man he immediately recognized as Assistant District Attorney Skip Jones with Fred speaking to Lieutenant Krebs.

Fred spotted Shaggy in the office and waved his hand, and Shaggy nodded.

As Skip and Krebs spoke, Fred walked over and Shaggy opened his office door.

"Shaggy, you read Daphne's message on Facebook?" Fred asked.

"Yeah." Shaggy said. "What Daph's about to do sounds dangerous to me."

"I know." Fred said. "Besides, she did say that there's one major suspect for the Hyde appearances."

"Yeah, but with that suspect being someone in Blake Enterprises, I've got a bad feeling about this..." Shaggy said.

"Which is why we should hurry over." Fred urged. "Don't worry about what your father might say if you're gone. Right now, trying to set things straight at Blake Enterprises is more important."

"Okay, then." Shaggy said as he followed Fred out.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at Blake Enterprises, Doctor Carl Orville was conferring with Dr. Corden about a chemical project they were working on.

 **(Note: Dr. Carl Orville is a retconned version of Professor Orville of Orville Research Institute in the original _Everybody Hyde!_ episode.)**

"Are you sure what you've got in mind is wise, Willy?" Orville asked as he scratched his neck. "And boy, my neck sure's been itchy lately."

"Don't worry, Carl." Corden reassured him. "As long as everything goes according to plan, things should turn out okay. What, with the Hyde formula you and I developed and its antidote."

"I know." Orville nodded. "But I still don't know about this, Willy. We'll be toast if Mr. Blake finds out what we're up to."

"Like I said, Carl." Corden said. "Don't worry. If everything goes according to plan, that Scrooge will soon find himself subjected to a series of lawsuits and will soon be forced to panhandle in the alleyways, not to mention that Mr. Daggett will reward us dearly."

"I hope you're right." Orville said. "Because I'm rather concerned about any potential side-effects from our exposure to the Hyde formula for long periods of time."

Meanwhile, Daphne was wandering alone in that section of the building not long after her father left for a meeting.

There wasn't a need for her to be shown around the building, as her father had brought her to the building countless times before, so she knew her way around the building as much as she knew her name.

At the doorway to the lab, Daphne paused when she overheard Orville and Corden's conversation and watching the two scientists through the glass window, Daphne silently listened carefully to the conversation.

"Mr. Daggett will take care of everything, Carl." Corden said as he made his way to the door, unaware that Daphne was hiding nearby and listening to their conversation. "You're just worrying about things going wrong."

"I hope you're right." Orville said as he continued to scratch his neck furiously.

Daphne hid behind the nearby plant and silently looked on as Corden exited the lab and made his way to the nearby elevator and pressed the "Down" button. A minute later, the doors opened, revealing an empty elevator car.

Daphne didn't emerge from her hiding spot until the elevator door closes, then she took a close look on the LED sign above the door, where she saw that it headed straight for basement third floor.

"Must be where Dr. Corden's office is located at." Daphne thought to herself as she walked towards the elevator.

However, just as Daphne pushed the elevator button, she heard a very loud crash and a growl coming from the lab Orville was still at.

Arching her eyebrows, the redhead walked over to the lab door and peeked through the glass window.

Her eyes widened in shock and horror when she saw what was going on inside the lab.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	12. A chase

Chapter 12: A chase

It didn't take long for Shaggy and Fred to fetch Velma at Quest Research Labs and they were quick to make their way down to Blake Enterprises.

"I'm really getting a bad feeling about this." Shaggy said as they made their way inside the building.

"I do hope that Daphne's all right." Velma said as they reached the front lobby, where they made their way to the reception desk.

"May I help you kids?" The secretary at the reception desk asked.

"Yes." Fred nodded. "Do you know if Mr. George Blake is available?"

"Mr. Blake?" The secretary arched an eyebrow. "He's currently at a business meeting. What do you kids need him for?"

"We're friends of his daughter Daphne, and she told us to come here and find her father." Fred explained. "And..."

Before Fred could finish, their attentions were drawn to what sounded like a shriek coming from the stairwell.

"What the...?" The secretary asked just as the door leading to the stairwell slammed open, and out came Daphne, who looked like she had saw a ghost.

"Daphne!" Shaggy exclaimed when they saw the redhead.

"Miss Blake!" The secretary said. "What's the matter? You looked like you've seen a ghost!"

Daphne shook her head. "It's worse!"

"What is it?" Velma asked as the group raised their eyebrows, though Shaggy had a good guess on what Daphne witnessed.

"Like, is it Mr. Hyde?" Shaggy asked.

"See for yourself!" Daphne exclaimed just as the door leading to the stairwell was ripped off its hinges, revealing a Hyde creature behind.

"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed. "Is that-?"

"That's Dr. Carl Orville." Daphne said as the front desk secretary directed them to hide under the front desk. "He's one of the research scientists at Blake Chemicals."

"He doesn't look anything like a research scientist to me!" Shaggy said as he peeked through the top of the desk and saw the Hyde creature tearing through the place.

The gang silently looked on from their hiding spot as the Hyde creature looked around.

* * *

In the same time, Inspector Sam Rogers had finished his meeting and returned to his office when he saw that Shaggy and Lieutenant Krebs were nowhere to be seen.

"What the-?" Sam asked as he looked around his office. "Where's Norville?"

As he looked around, he spotted Assistant District Attorney Skip Jones accompanying Lieutenant Krebs as they walked back to his office.

"Inspector Rogers!" Skip said when he saw Sam.

"Assistant District Attorney Jones!" Sam said. "What brings you here? And have you seen my son Norville?"

"I was hoping you have seen my son Fred, Inspector." Skip replied. "I brought him with me for my meeting with Mark here to discuss a case, but when we were finished, Fred was nowhere to be seen!"

"Uh oh." Sam said. "Don't tell me that both Norville and Frederick have gone missing."

"They've got to be somewhere around here, sir." Krebs said. "I mean, I should've kept a sharper eye..."

"It wasn't your fault, Lieutenant." Sam said. "But let's search around the floor. Chances are that they might be using the washroom."

"Right." Skip nodded as the trio headed out again.

The search took no more than ten minutes, and when the trio regrouped in Sam's office, they all came to the same conclusion.

"Fred and Norville are nowhere on this floor." Sam said.

"Then, I wonder where did they went." Skip asked.

Sam and Krebs both shrugged as the former made his way back into his office.

Just as the trio were wondering what to do next, a deep voice suddenly said, "Inspector, BF's got news for you."

"Dog Wonder?" Sam asked as he, Skip and Krebs paused and turned, in time for Dynomutt to reveal himself after shifting into his normal shape from that of a billboard. "What is it?"

"It's something to do with the Hyde serum." Dynomutt reported. "We had a friend who has offered to help analysing it, and what he found was troubling, which Mr. Blake will definitely want to hear about."

"What of it?" Sam asked.

"It contains traces of a certain Chemical X that can mutates one's DNA." Dynomutt explained. "As a matter a fact, if one gets exposed to the serum for a prolonged period of time, that person can be transformed into a Hyde creature permanently."

"Dear goodness." Krebs said. "Are you saying that there may be someone who could be in the process of transforming into a Hyde creature by now?"

"That is a distinct possibility." Dynomutt nodded. "Our friend is working on developing an antidote, but it's going to take time."

"And during this time, more people could get exposed to the serum." Sam interjected. "Which increases the risk of more people transforming into Hyde creatures."

"Exactly." Dynomutt nodded. "BF is currently working hard in tracking down the main source of the Hyde serum, so I suggest that you two gentlemen go find Mr. Blake and inform him on this."

Sam and Skip turned to each other and nodded.

"He's right." Sam said. "Krebs, you go inform Deputy Chief Harewood and Captain Stephenson on this development, while Assistant DA Jones and I go find Mr. Blake."

"What about Norville and Fred, Sam?" Skip asked.

"I'm afraid that's going to have to wait." Sam said. "Let's go!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the front desk, the gang remained in hiding as the Hyde creature looks around menacingly.

"We've gotta call for help." Fred whispered as they looked on anxiously.

"Like, hopefully, he can't hear well." Shaggy whispered as Fred pulled out his cell phone. "Because..."

Before he could continue, Shaggy suddenly felt the urge to sneeze after accidentally inhaling some dust.

Seeing Shaggy about to sneeze, the other three began to panic.

"Don't sneeze, Shaggy!" Velma whispered loudly. "Or that Hyde creature will figure out where we're hiding at!"

Shaggy quickly placed a finger on his nose to try to stiff his sneezing, and for a brief moment, his nose relaxed.

Just as everyone hiding behind the desk sighed in relief, Shaggy's nose suddenly started acting up again.

"Ah-ah-ah...choo!" Shaggy exclaimed as he sneezed before anyone could stop.

The sneezing immediately caught the Hyde creature's attention, and it turned towards the desk.

Seeing the Hyde creature approaching, the gang looked around.

"You sure blew it, Shag." Velma said.

"I know." Shaggy said as he saw the Hyde creature approaching the desk. "Like, gangway!"

As the Hyde creature approaches the desk, the gang quickly took off running from their hiding spot.

"Is there a safe place to hide nearby, Daphne?" Fred asked as they ran.

"Yes." Daphne nodded. "That will be my father's office. Follow me!"

As quick as foxes, the gang followed Daphne up the stairs with the Hyde creature in full pursuit.

* * *

In that same time, George has completed his business meeting and has made his way to the stairs as he returns to his office.

He was expecting Daphne to be at his office waiting for him, though he was completely oblivious to the situation downstairs.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sam and Skip has arrived at the main reception floor of Blake Enterprises, where they found themselves greeted by the heavy damage.

"What in heaven's name just happened here?" Sam asked as they looked around.

"Looks like something out of a war zone." Skip added as they surveyed the damage.

It was then that the front desk secretary emerged from her hiding place, which was the women's washroom. Immediately, Sam and Skip walked over to her with the former holding his badge up.

"Mrs. Skyes." Sam said. "What just happened here, and where is Mr. Blake?"

"Some hideous creature smashed through the place." Mrs. Skyes explained. "A creature I believe to be that Mr. Hyde the paper's been buzzing about lately. I was hiding in the women's washroom during the time, though...oh dear."

"What's the matter?" Skip asked as the secretary placed her right hand on her forehead.

"There were four kids, one of which is Mr. Blakes daughter Daphne!" Mrs. Skyes said. "Last I saw them, they were hiding behind the desk from that hideous creature."

"No one's hiding there anymore." Skip said after he and Sam turned towards the desk in question and looked over it. "Do you have any idea where they may have went?"

"No sir." Mrs. Skyes shook her head. "Though Mr. Blake is finishing a business meeting and should be in his office presently."

"Then, that's where we're going." Sam said. "Thank you, Mrs. Skyes."

"No problem, Inspector." Mrs. Skyes nodded as the two men quickly took off.

* * *

Back at the stairs, the gang managed to reach the top floor, where Mr. Blake's office is at.

"Why couldn't we just take the elevator?" Fred asked as he tried to catch his breath.

"If we had taken the elevator, then there's a good chance that Hyde creature might try to damage the cables and trap us in there." Daphne said. "At least we're there."

"Good, because that Hyde creature is fast approaching!" Shaggy exclaimed as he saw the Hyde creature climbing onto the floor below.

Immediately, the gang raced through the door while the Hyde creature finally arrived at the top floor, panting.

Facing the fourth wall, his face gave a look that said, "I should've gone on a diet like Willie told me to."

The Hyde creature then followed the gang through the door, in time to see the door to Mr. Blake's office closing.

Growling, the Hyde creature stormed its way through the floor and then tried to push the door open, only to find it stuck.

Inside, the gang wasted no time piling what heavy objects and furniture they can find to block the door.

"Hurry!" Daphne said as she and Velma pushed back on the pile, while Shaggy and Fred frantically find what heavy furniture they can find.

Just then, the Hyde creature, with a surge in strength, suddenly pushed the door (And the heavy objects and furniture blocking it) out of its way, causing heavy damage in the office as the gang were pushed to the far end of the room.

Looking around, the Hyde creature soon spotted the four kids at the far end, close together as they frightenedly looked on.

Growling, the Hyde creature marched towards them menacingly with its arms raised.

"Freddie, do something!" Velma said in fright.

"I-I don't know what to do!" Fred said panickingly. "I just found that my phone battery's low."

"A nice time for us to find out on that!" Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Like, of all the days for Scooby to stay home as well." Shaggy said.

As the kids waited for the Hyde creature to do its thing, there was suddenly a shot in the air, followed by a gasp.

The Hyde creature's eyes bulged before the effects of the sedative kicked in, causing it to then slump onto the floor and revealing the Blue Falcon standing behind.

He was holding an air rifle containing sedative darts, and he placed the weapon down as he found himself face-to-face with the kids.

"What are you kids doing here?" The Blue Falcon asked.

"Bring Your Kid to Work Day." Daphne replied. "And I could ask the same for you."

"Finding the mastermind behind the Hyde appearances." BF said. "Though I'm sure this Hyde creature is an accomplice of the real Mr. Hyde."

"Indeed he is." Daphne nodded. "That's Doctor Carl Orville from the chemical research division."

"Daphne?" Another voice suddenly asked, and everyone turned and looked.

Standing at the doorway, or rather, what used to be the doorway, were George, Sam and Skip.

Seeing BF and the unconscious Hyde creature on the floor, Sam asked, "Did we miss anything, and what are you doing here, Norville?"

"Same to you, Frederick." Skip added.

Eying their fathers, Shaggy, Fred and Daphne all swallowed and sighed.

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	13. Aftermath and more details

Chapter 13: Aftermath and more details

"We're terribly sorry about your office, Mr. Blake." Fred said after explanations as the unconscious Hyde creature was placed onto a cart by Blake Medical personnel. "I'd imagine that it'll cost you an arm and a leg to have it fixed up."

"Don't be." George shrugged. "This office room was due for renovations in a couple of weeks, and I was going to move into a temporary office anyways. Who knows, after this room is fixed up, it'll look even better than it did before this..."

He then gestured towards the unconscious Hyde creature as he continued, "...Hyde creature...smashed his way."

"And you're positive that this Hyde creature was Dr. Orville, Miss Blake?" Sam asked Daphne.

"Yes." Daphne nodded. "However, he's not your real Mr. Hyde."

"Indeed he isn't." The Blue Falcon nodded. "As a matter a fact, he's only an accomplice of the real Mr. Hyde who conveniently decided to vanish shortly after meeting with him."

"Vanish?" Sam asked as he, Skip and George all raised an eyebrow.

"That's right." The Blue Falcon said. "Shortly after his meeting with Dr. Orville, Dr. Corden was to return to his office in the basement, but he never did. Before vanishing, he walked right into an elevator."

"And what made you think that Dr. Corden is, in fact, the real Mr. Hyde?" George asked. "Did he really develop that Hyde formula in order to ruin my company?"

"During my assignment posing as Professor Haufman, I've made a few inquiries." BF explained. "Inquiries which has pointed towards a dark picture of corrupt, unethical business practices by Daggett Industries, which includes evidence of manipulating the stock markets to make the Blake Enterprise bonds worthless and thus leave Mr. Blake at a very tight position financially."

"I knew it!" George slammed his fist down on his desk. "I knew that I should never accept Mr. Daggett's so-called 'generous' offer as Blake Enterprises loses steam on the stockmarket."

"But what does Mr. Daggett have to do with the Hyde appearances?" Skip asked.

"This is where the trail lead me to Dr. Corden and Mr. Ronald Scott." BF replied. "Dr. Corden was a top scientist at S.T.A.R. Labs before Mr. Scott recommended him to come work at Blake Chemicals. Now, Scott has attended the Ohio State University's School of Business Management and was classmates with Barty Daggett, whom formed a good partnership and was, in fact, instrumental in the establishment of the pharmaceutical research division of Daggett Industries."

"Which is now known as Daggett Pharmaceutical." George interjected.

"Right." The Blue Falcon nodded. "Now, upon checking corporate records, I found that Dr. Corden was hired by Blake Chemicals the same day Ronald Scott purchased stake in Blake Enterprises and become a stockholder in the company, where his main domain is in Blake Chemicals and is, in fact, instrumental in Dr. Corden's hiring."

"When did your stockholders have a massive restructuring, George?" Sam asked.

"That will be early this January." George replied and sighed. "January 7th, when I decided to do so in order to shake things up and bring in new blood."

"That was also the first day on Dr. Corden's research notes where he began his research into developing the Hyde formula." BF added.

Sam, Skip and George all shared a look, as with the gang.

"That's some strange coincidence if you ask me." Shaggy remarked.

"Too much of a coincidence." BF said. "No doubt that Dr. Corden and Mr. Scott conspired to help ruin Blake Enterprises, with Mr. Scott doing his thing at the stock market as stockholder while Dr. Corden developed the Hyde formula, thus pinning the Hyde appearances on Blake Enterprises and drive Mr. Blake to ruin."

"That blasted weasel!" George slammed his fist down on his desk again in anger. "If I get my hands on him, I'll be sure that he pays for what he's trying to do to my company and my good name."

"I'm sure he will." BF said. "Because from his research notes, I don't see any indication of his awareness of any possible side-effects the Hyde formula does when one's exposed to it for prolonged periods of time."

"Are you telling us that Dr. Corden may be in the process of transforming into a Hyde creature permanently?" George asked.

"Yes." BF nodded grimly. "All this exposure to the Hyde formula he developed, it wouldn't be long before he finds himself transforming into a Hyde creature without the need to inject himself with the serum."

"Which may explain why Dr. Corden's hand felt furry when I shook hands with him earlier." Daphne said.

At the remark, everyone looked at Daphne with concern.

"You said you've shook hands with Dr. Corden, Daphne?" Sam asked.

"Yes, I did." Daphne nodded. "Why?"

Blue Falcon looked at her grimly.

"I've got a friend who took a closer look at the sample of the fur you kids have discovered at S.T.A.R. Labs, where he discovered traces of the Hyde serum." BF said. "And with the strength and effects of the Hyde formula increasing with every injection, he may have the capability to infect you with the Hyde serum virus simply by shaking your hand and thus cause you to transform into one."

There was some gasps from the gang and the adults as they looked at Daphne in concern.

"Zoinks!" Shaggy said. "Like, is there a way to stop that?"

"There is an antidote." BF said. "Dr. Corden developed a batch of the antidote in order to restore himself back to his normal self. However, the batch disappeared following his meeting with Dr. Orville and even with his research journal, it will likely take time to whip up an antidote, and time is something we don't have with Dr. Corden missing, most likely on the loose."

"Which means more people in Coolsville are at risk of getting themselves infected with Dr. Corden on the loose." Skip interjected.

"Exactly." BF nodded grimly.

"Jinkies, what are we going to do about this?" Velma asked.

"Not to worry." BF said. "I've got a plan. When he finds himself transforming into Mr. Hyde without injecting himself with the Hyde formula, no doubt Dr. Corden will become worried and be finding someone to blame."

"In the meantime, though, we've gotta deal with you kids running around playing detective while a dangerous maniac is on the loose." Sam added as he and the adults turned to the gang. "Especially with Daphne potentially getting herself infected, I don't think it's worth the risk playing detective when one of you gets too close to Mr. Hyde and get infected as a result."

"Indeed." Skip nodded as he looked at Fred sternly.

However, before Skip could continue, a beep can be heard.

"What's that noise?" Sam asked.

"It's the Falcon Flash!" BF said as he pulled out a gadget with a small screen. "Dog Wonder is issuing an alert."

"Indeed I am, BF." Dynomutt reported. "I just spotted Mr. Hyde!"

"Mr. Hyde?" Shaggy said. "Like, where is he?"

"I'm currently flying near the headquarters of Daggett Industries over at Luther Avenue." Dynomutt said. He was in the form of a seagull with his eyes doubling as hidden cameras, of which its view can be seen through the screen on BF's gadget.

Leaning over to look at the screen, everyone saw a man-like figure in the dark alleyway near Luther Avenue.

"That's Dr. Corden." Daphne quickly said.

"You sure?" George asked his daughter, as he needed reading glasses to see the screen clearly.

"Absolutely." Daphne nodded.

"Then, we have to move quick." BF said as he put the gadget back into his utility belt. "No doubt Dr. Corden is on his way to confront whoever's responsible for his gradual, permenant transformation into Mr. Hyde."

* * *

The Blue Falcon was right. Unaware that Dynomutt was watching him, Dr. Corden was scratching furiously as he tried to enter the building through the side entrance.

"What is happening to me?" He asked as he scratched his neck furiously and walked by a mirror, where he caught a glimpse of his reflection.

It was that glimpse that made his heart stop as he found himself growing more hideous, like he always does when transforming into Mr. Hyde.

"I don't understand." He said in horror. "I haven't injected myself with the formula, and I only recently applied the antidote after my last outing last night."

Watching more fur growing out of him, he looked at his hands and saw them turning into paws!

"No, it can't be!" He said. "I can't be transforming into Mr. Hyde right now!"

Then, remembering about what he was promised when he initially agreed to research and develop the Hyde formula, he frowned angrily and growled.

"Ronald Scott and Barty Daggett are responsible for my transformation!" He gritted his teeth. "They are going to pay for this!"

He then moved to the nearby side entrance door, using a claw to pick the lock open before smashing his way into the building.

* * *

Meanwhile, up in his office, Barty Daggett was meeting with Ronald Scott.

"I heard that Mr. Blake turned down your offer, Barty." Scott remarked.

"He did." Daggett nodded. "That old goat sure is as stubborn as a mule."

"You can say that again." Scott agreed. "I'll bet it will take some more 'convincing' before he finally sees the light."

"And by 'convincing', you mean Mr. Hyde smashing through more research labs across the city." Daggett said. "By the time people know that the chemical produced exclusively by Blake Chemicals was part of the Hyde formula, they'll soon stage protests and boycott the company."

"And with the company losing steam on the stock market, that old goat will have no choice but to fold and sell the company." Scott nodded. "A really brilliant plan of yours, Barty."

"Yes indeed." Daggett nodded. "It was nice of Dr. Corden and Dr. Orville to help with our cause."

"Yeah, speaking of which, I'm afraid we've got a problem." Scott said as his facial expression turned serious.

"What problem?" Daggett asked.

"Someone's been snooping around Dr. Corden's research." Scott said urgently. "His research journal is missing, as with the batch of antidote he developed. Also, he didn't return any of my phone calls or email messages. I'm afraid Mr. Blake is onto what he's up to."

"Then, we'll just have to call him through-" Daggett said, only for Scott to cut him off.

"That's the problem." Scott said. "I can't get ahold of Dr. Corden. His wireless radio has been suffering from electromagnetic interference, and it seems like the Hyde formula he and Dr. Orville researched has side effects."

"Side effects?" Daggett asked. "What side effects?"

"According to Blake Biomedical, Dr. Orville has been hospitalized after apparently went through a transformation - without injecting himself with the formula." Scott said grimly. "Apparently, the formula's unstable enough to emit radiation, which can alter one's DNA and transform him/her into a Hyde creature permanently."

"But the antidote...?" Daggett asked.

"If you inject yourself with the formula too many times, its effect wears off quicker than before." Scott said. "No doubt Dr. Corden has exposed himself to the formula countless times, so the antidote is now useless on him."

"And how's this a problem?" Daggett asked.

"No doubt that the formula is capable of taking a toll on his mental health." Scott said. "And like I said, he's nowhere to be seen, which could mean he's somewhere out there on the loose, and with the strength of the formula increasing with each injection, he'll be capable of infecting anyone he's come into contact with and transform them into Hyde creatures as well."

Daggett only looked at Scott blankly.

"We're talking about a potential epidemic that can affect us." Scott quickly said. "Not to mention an angry scientist who's gonna be mad at whoever suggested him to do the research and development."

It was then that they heard some screaming from the other side of the office door and some smashing.

"We'd better get out of here." Daggett said as his hands pushed a hidden button on his desk, opening a secret passageway behind his portrait.

He then radioed for a helicopter to be ready at the helipad at the roof.

"Right." Scott nodded as he got up. "Let's go."

However, before the two corrupt businessmen made their way to the passageway, the door smashed open, revealing Mr. Hyde at the other side.

Horrified by Dr. Corden's transformation, the two businessmen stood there dumbfounded.

"Going somewhere?" Mr. Hyde growled as he entered the office.

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	14. The showdown

Chapter 14: The showdown

In the meantime, as Sam and Skip hurried back to their respective offices, with the former to mobilize the police department and the latter getting relevant documents ready at his office, the gang and George are at the medical ward where medical personnel are keeping close observations on both Daphne and Dr. Orville.

By this point, the Blue Falcon has already left in search for the missing Dr. Corden.

As Velma and the boys looked on, George was speaking to the head doctor of Blake Medical, who is overseeing the team monitoring Dr. Orville and Daphne's conditions.

So far, Dr. Orville has returned to normal, though medical lab technicians are working quick to see if they can develop an antidote to permanently counteract the effects of the Hyde formula in the scientist's body.

In addition, after the antidote was administered, Daphne hasn't been showing any signs of complications from her potential contact with the Hyde serum.

Eventually, George returned to the rest of the gang after conferring with the doctor.

"How's Daphne?" Shaggy was the first to ask.

"Her condition is stable and there are no signs of any abnormalities yet, unlike what the medical team has observed in the early stages of applying the antidote to Dr. Orville." George said.

"That's good to hear, Mr. Blake." Fred nodded.

"Though I will like to know what could have possessed you kids to play detective." George said as he turned to the gang. "Don't you kids realize that it's dangerous and that you could potentially get hurt?"

"We know that, Mr. Blake." Fred said. "It's just that when there are strange things going on, I feel tempted to check things out and inquire for answers."

"I see." George nodded thoughtfully before frowning and added, "I believe a good talk with your parents is in order for you all. I certainly don't like how you kids took risks like that."

* * *

Meanwhile, Daggett and Scott were horrified as they found themselves face-to-face with a visibly-angry Mr. Hyde.

"Now...there, Dr. Corden." Scott said as he and Daggett tried to calm the beast down. "Take it easy there."

"Take it easy?!" Mr. Hyde growled as he marched menacingly towards the two corrupt businessmen. "After what you've made me into and you've told me to take it easy?!"

"Dr. Corden, if I recall correctly, we had an accord." Daggett said. "You do your work in sabotaging Blake Enterprises' reputation with the Hyde formula you're researching and developing, and we'll reward you dearly with a substantial increase in your pay once you come to work for us."

"Without regarding the negative side-effects of the Hyde formula I've injected myself regularly with?" Mr. Hyde gritted his teeth.

"When we give you money to do a job, Dr. Corden, we expect you to go through the due diligence of getting things right for our cause." Daggett said. "Besides, with the potential rewards of getting things right, you can afford to get the medical care you need in case of any..."

"Money may buy me the best medical care, Mr. Daggett." Mr. Hyde immediately cut the businessman off. "But it can never buy me health, especially given the frequent exposure to the formula has made it easier for me to transform without the need of injection, plus the antidote I've developed is no longer working. Do you honestly think a few million lousy dollars is worth the risk to my health?"

He then walked towards Scott and Daggett as he produced claws and added, "You two are responsible for my transformation, and you're going to pay for it."

As Mr. Hyde prepared to use his claws on them, Daggett tried to calm him down.

"Dr. Corden...perhaps we can strike a deal...if you let us live, I'll immediately...uh...hand over Daggett Enterprises over to you...and..." Daggett said, only for Mr. Hyde to snort and laugh.

"What a joke." Mr. Hyde laughed. "And just so you know, it's no longer Dr. Corden, gentlemen."

With his paws close enough to the necks of both of the businessmen, Mr. Hyde added, "It's Mr. Hyde you're speaking to."

As Scott and Daggett looked on in horror, Mr. Hyde prepared to use his claws on them.

However, just as Mr. Hyde was about to take a fatal swipe at them, a falcon-shaped boomerang suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around his claws.

"You'll be going no further, Mr. Hyde." A voice said, and the trio turned and saw the Blue Falcon in the room. "This is where your trail of destruction stops."

"The Blue Falcon!" Mr. Hyde growled as he turned to face the vigilante, giving the two businessmen the opportunity to get out.

However, just as Scott passed by BF, the vigilante, who hasn't kept his eyes off Mr. Hyde as he walked towards him, suddenly grabbed hold of him by the shoulder as he said, "Not so fast, Mr. Scott."

Daggett wasn't grabbed by BF as he fumbled for the secret exit, only to be stopped by the growling Dynomutt, who had dangerous knives out and ready and forcing the businessman to backtrack back into the room.

"You really think this rope can stop me, huh?" Mr. Hyde growled as he faced BF, nodding at the line attached to the boomerang that has tied his paws up before moving his wrists further apart and snapping the line tying his paws.

Looking at Scott for a brief second, BF shoved the businessman aside before wenting to confront Mr. Hyde.

"I was in the middle of settling some private business when you bursted in, Blue Falcon." Mr. Hyde growled. "You really should've minded your own business."

"Not when you're about to murder two businessmen who doesn't need your brand of justice, Mr. Hyde." BF said. "They'll eventually be tried in the court of law and pay for what they have done."

"Not good enough!" Mr. Hyde growled as he took a swipe at BF, who managed to duck. "They promised to reward me dearly with my work, but instead they rewarded me with this hideous transformation!"

"And had you been aware of any possible side-effects and dangers, Dr. Corden, as a scientist of good integrity and bounded by good ethics, you should've refused to take part in this scheme." BF replied as he took a swing at Mr. Hyde. "But it's all because of the money they promised you that drew you into this scheme, didn't it?"

By that point, the punch managed to land Mr. Hyde onto the floor, and he wiped his face as BF walked towards him, ready to cuff him.

There was some silence from Mr. Hyde as he sat up and looked at the vigilante, but provoked by the words and BF's questioning, Mr. Hyde growled as he suddenly took a swipe at BF's leg.

BF was caught off guard by the counterattack, and he ended up with several scratches on his leg.

"Now who's the fool?" Mr. Hyde taunted BF as he got up while the vigilante gritted his teeth in pain.

Gritting his teeth, BF looked at Mr. Hyde menacingly.

Mr. Hyde then turned towards Mr. Scott and marched towards him.

"Now to finish what I've started." Mr. Hyde growled as he walked towards Mr. Scott, who swallowed as he faced him.

"Not so fast." BF said as he suddenly produced another falcon-shaped boomerang and threw it towards Mr. Hyde's feet.

The line attached to the boomerang wrapped itself around Mr. Hyde's legs, causing him to trip and fall over before he could reach Mr. Scott.

Then, Dynomutt produced a Taser, stretched one leg over to the down Mr. Hyde and gave him an electric jolt.

"Yahhhh!" Mr. Hyde growled in pain as around 10000 volts of electricity surged through his body. He then slumped onto the floor, not moving.

"There." Dynomutt said as his taser-leg stretched back into his robotic body. "I suppose the case of Mr. Hyde has been wrapped up, BF."

"Right." BF nodded before turning to the two businessmen in the room. "As for you two gentlemen, you've got a lot of answering to do."

"So what are you going to charge us with?" Daggett sneered. "Industrial sabotage?"

"You've got no solid evidence that we actually masterminded the Hyde attacks and framed Blake Enterprises for it." BF said. "And besides, even if you do have evidence, how does the law know that your word is to be trusted?"

"The law may have doubts on the Blue Falcon's word and testimony." A voice suddenly said. "But not when an officer of the law, or in this case, several officers of the law, were present and have heard the whole conversation."

Everyone turned and looked. At the doorway to the office stood Inspector Sam Rogers, Captain Jared Stephenson of Major Crimes Division, Assistant District Attorney Skip Jones and several heavily armed police officers, all of whom had their weapons aimed at the motionless Mr. Hyde.

"Mr. Hyde is right there, gentlemen." Sam said as he pointed at the downed figure, and several officers wearing protective gear immediately went over to handcuff Mr. Hyde and brought him up. "He is to be sent to Blake Medical for strict observations as they work on developing a stronger antidote."

The officers nodded as they grabbed Mr. Hyde and took him out of the office, leaving Sam, Stephenson, Skip and four more police officers.

"I got your message and got here as soon as we could, Blue Falcon." Sam said as he held out the falcon-shaped radio device on his breast pocket.

"And along the way, we've listened in to a very interesting conversation that pieces together the puzzles on the conspiracy to frame Blake Enterprises for Mr. Hyde's appearances." Jones added as Sam proceeded to play an excerpt of the recorded conversation.

"And you'll be pleased to know that my partners and I have been keeping track of Dr. Corden's activities in the past few weeks." BF added as he turned to the two businessmen. "Activities that led me to your office, Mr. Daggett."

"You planted a bug in my office?!" Daggett exclaimed in disbelief.

"My friend did." BF said casually with Dynomutt nodding. "We've only played our parts."

Furious, Daggett and Scott turned to Sam and company.

"You heard what that lunatic just say, Inspector?" Daggett asked. "He just admitted to illegally planting a recording device in my office, which is the ultimate invasion of my privacy!"

"You should have them arrested and charged for invading our privacies and illegal surveillance, Assistant DA Jones!" Scott added as he and Daggett turned around to gesture towards BF and Dynomutt, only to find that they're nowhere to be seen. "Those...what the?"

"Where did they go?" Daggett asked as they looked around.

Sam, Skip and Stephenson all shared a look and shrugged, with Stephenson pocketing a CD that mysteriously made its way into his hands during the conversation, the CD containing recordings of the conversations at Mr. Daggett's office.

"I honestly wouldn't know, Mr. Daggett." Sam shrugged as the two businessmen turned to face them again. "But there's one thing we do know for sure."

"Yes indeed." Stephenson nodded with Skip showing his CD copy of the recordings. "There's going to be a lot of outrage and a major shakeup in Coolsville's business world in the next few days."

"Yes, as Daggett Industries founds itself under investigation for corporate sabotage." Skip added. "You two gentlemen are looking at at least ten years at Ohio State Pen."

"And even if your lawyers managed to have you acquitted, I highly doubt you'll be able to recover your giant fortune." Sam said. "Word has it that the RCMP north of the border has ordered the freezing of Daggett Industries Canada's assets."

"As the largest foreign subsidy of Daggett Industries, there's no doubt that your company is going to take a major hit, especially as the Gotham City District Attorney's Office is building a solid case in investigating your company's headquarters there." Skip added.

Daggett and Scott both looked at the trio with unmistakable rage in their faces.

"Curses!" Scott exclaimed as the four police officers walked over to handcuff him and Daggett.

"This isn't over, Jones!" Daggett added as he and Scott were escorted away by the officers. "We'll fight every single charge in the courts, and we'll drag this to the Supreme Court if it's the last thing we'll do!"

* * *

 **One more chapter to go, folks!**

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	15. Epilogue

Chapter 15: Epilogue

 _April 25, 2008_

Several months has gone by since the Blue Falcon helped Coolsville authorities in their efforts to apprehend Mr. Hyde, during which they also managed to secure evidence of Ronald Scott and Barty Daggett's conspiracy to frame Blake Enterprises for masterminding the Hyde appearances and attacks.

Following the arrests, Mr. Hyde was transported to a Blake Medical facility, where he was injected with the developed antidote and placed under observation.

It was also during this time that Daphne was released from medical observation when doctors determined that she won't be facing any complications, though she was advised to drop by the medical clinic on a monthly basis for checkups in the 12 months after her release.

George couldn't be more relieved that Daphne was alright, though it was clear that he need to have a good conversation with each of the gang's parents regarding their playing detective.

Meanwhile, a major case and scandal in Gotham City led to the indictment of Roland Daggett, the head of Daggett Industries, where he was found to have approved the illegal research and development of biological and chemical weapons and selling them overseas, largely to regimes with checkered human rights records who are also known for their hostile stance to the U.S.

With Roland Daggett's indictment, the cases against Barty Daggett and Ronald Scott became rock solid as Daggett Industries and its overseas affiliates were forced to file for bankruptcy as their stocks tanked.

In what can perhaps be described as an irony, Blake Enterprises recovered financially on the stock market and, together with the Gotham-based Wayne Enterprises, acquired all of Daggett Industries' remaining assets and ended up restructuring the former company's operations.

"I have to say that this is a rather ironic twist of fate, don't you think, Nat?" Sergeant McCormick said to his partner that day when the newspapers in the city reported on the business acquisition.

"No kidding, man." Hughes nodded in agreement as he worked on a crossword puzzle, that day being a down day with no cases to investigate.

In that same day, George had a business luncheon with Radley and Bruce not long after making the joint announcement.

"I can't thank you and Bruce enough for your help." George said gratefully to Radley and Bruce as they waited for their ordered meals. "If it wasn't for your help, I honestly don't think Blake Enterprises will still be standing."

"Ah, it was a pleasure helping you out, George." Bruce nodded. "I've always figured that Daggett Industries was up to something unethical and illegal, and when I learned about the Hyde appearances, I was happy to lend a hand, especially after Professor Kaufman's disappearance."

"Say, what happened to Professor Kaufman?" George asked Radley. "Was he ever found after Mr. Hyde was caught?"

"Actually, my friend told me that the professor had to disappear for a short while when he was about to blow the whistle on something going on at S.T.A.R. Labs." Bruce confided. "An act that will certainly equate to signing his own death warrant."

"Blow the whistle?" George asked. "What for?"

"The illegal, secret sales of high tech weapons jointly developed by S.T.A.R. Labs and Daggett Industries to Syria in violation of the Syrian Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act." Radley said. "Kaufman was going to blow the whistle on that."

"Which is why Batman agreed to help him disappear temporarily." Bruce added. "Knowing the way Daggett Industries operates, he is aware that Professor Kaufman had to disappear temporarily for his own safety."

"So Batman staged the professor's disappearance and then the Blue Falcon steps in and impersonates the professor to investigate the plot, huh?" George asked.

"Exactly." Bruce nodded. "Investigating that plot and Daggett Industries' plot to ruin Blake Enterprises by planting a mole in your Board of Directors."

"Yes indeed." George said. "No doubt you've read about the shakeup in my company's board of directors now that Ronald Scott has been indicted."

"Yes." Bruce said.

"Anyways, now that Daggett Industries is history, Professor Kaufman should be returning to work soon." Radley added.

"And speaking of which, from what you told me about who you've encountered during your impersonation, Radley, seems like a group of meddling kids needs to have a good talk with their parents." Bruce said.

"Oh yes." George nodded. "I certainly hope Skip talks some sense into young Fred. He's certainly too young to be involved in detective work, as with my daughter, Velma and Norville."

"Perhaps they need something to occupy them with." Radley offered. "Like...a tree house to play in."

"Oh, yes." George nodded. "I have discussed this with the other parents, and they agree that a tree house is a best way for the kids to occupy themselves without thinking of playing detective."

"Ah, that's good to hear, George." Bruce said before asking George, "Anyways, what has happened to Dr. Corden and Dr. Orville now that the plot has been exposed?"

"Well, Dr. Orville was able to recover well enough to testify against Ronald Scott and Barty Daggett." George said. "He may have been exposed to the Hyde formula frequently during the course of the research and development, but he never injected or sprayed himself with the substance like Dr. Corden did, so he recovered."

"Of course, he has been advised to do monthly medical checkups in case for any complications." Radley interjected.

"Yes." George nodded. "Now, as for Dr. Corden, I'm not sure if he's doing alright. He's been in a coma after the showdown in Mr. Daggett's office. He has reacted rather well with the antidote that was developed, but he hasn't been waking up."

"Do you suppose the antidote has to take some time to fight the Hyde formula he has regularly sprayed or injected himself with?" Bruce asked.

"With the amount of times he has injected or sprayed himself with the Hyde formula, I can't say I'm surprised if it takes a long time before he wakes up." George sighed.

"I suppose so." Bruce nodded.

* * *

It was also that afternoon that Sam was called to Harewood's office with the deputy chief informing him of some news.

"I've been promoted, Sam." Harewood said to him. "Mason has informed me that I've been accepted to fill Lambert's position as Director of Special Operations following his retirement."

The Office of Special Operations is the office in charge of the Detective Bureau, in addition to additional special services like SWAT, and the Director position is held by an Assistant Chief.

"I suppose that means you'll be moving into a new office soon, Chief." Sam said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks, buddy." Harewood nodded. "Now, I've been informed that Deputy Chief JP Miller is going to replace me as the Detective Director, and I believe you may remember him as the rascal that investigated your actions back in 1985."

"Oh, yes." Sam said. "He's quite the rascal, and he was the one that suggested Strickland to have me transferred to New York in the first place. Can't say I've forgotten about him, nor can I say that he's nowhere like Gosnell."

"Anyways, if you encounter trouble, Sam, please don't hesitate to let me know." Harewood said. "After all, I am the final authority on all matters related to the decisions made on the Detective Bureau."

"Not to worry." Sam nodded.

* * *

 _April 26, 2008_

That morning, Sam, Skip, Velma's father Steve and George met together in front of the Rogers home.

"You've got the wood, Steve?" Skip asked.

"Oh yes, together with the drawings." Steve nodded as he gestured towards his parked pickup. "This should be of great benefit for the kids."

"And I've gotten the tools set up and ready to go." Sam added as he gestured towards the tree where they were going to build the tree house at.

"Excellent." George smiled. "Shall we, gentlemen?"

The fathers all nodded before proceeding to get down to work.

The building of the tree house took up the whole morning and into the afternoon, during which there were a few delays and slapstick, such as when Skip accidentally damaged a sparrow's nest on the tree and the mother sparrow ended up giving him a piece of her mind, resulting in the other fathers laughing as Skip found himself with some white stuff on his shirt.

"Oh well, I was going to have this shirt dropped off in the laundry basket for the washing machine anyways." Skip shrugged as he hosed himself to get rid of the bird droppings.

And then, there was the time when Sam, in the process of painting the tree house, accidentally knocked over a can of paint, causing purple paint to spill right onto Steve as he passed by under him.

"Sheez, it looks like our wives are going to give us an earful for having to give them too much laundry to wash today." Steve joked, and the fathers all laughed as they paused their chores.

Eventually, the tree house was finished, and upon stacking several toys and books (Not mystery books) inside, the gang were allowed to take a look.

"Wow." Shaggy remarked as he, Scooby and Sugie looked at the tree house with the gang.

"Yes indeed." Sam nodded as he and Wendy turned to their children. "You kids are going to have fun and enjoy yourselves in your tree house."

"And this should also keep your minds off playing detective." Velma's mother Cassandra added. "Especially after what you kids went through during Mr. Hyde's rampage, you should think twice before thinking of playing detective."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Dinkley." Daphne said. "I'm sure we'll be enjoying ourselves with the tree house the dads had built for us."

"Yes, we sure will." Fred nodded.

"That's good." His mother Peggie smiled.

And so, over the next while, into the summer, the kids have spent almost spent everyday hanging out in the tree house to play, do their homework and study together, and they all seemed to enjoy the tree house.

With the kids enjoying the tree house, the parents believe that they've succeeded in taking their minds off playing detective.

Or so they've thought, and...well, that's for another story.

* * *

 **The adventures of Mystery Inc. continues in _Coolsville Central: A Case of Bone Heads!_**

 **Please read and review!**


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